


Project of Heart

by Taruolento



Category: Hit the Floor (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-08-22 10:42:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 79,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8282981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taruolento/pseuds/Taruolento
Summary: They have always controlled people, one way or another. So it took them all by a surprise, that they couldn't get what they wanted. Set after Death do us apart.





	1. Happiness never lasts

**Author's Note:**

> So here's the new story as promised. I probably won't be able to post chapters as often as with my last work. I've been totally amazed of your lovely comments and kudos with Joined by blood or trust. Thank you for that and please, enjoy the story!

After their meeting with Jelena things were finally looking good. No, not just good, perfect. Zero had rose to the position he had longed for since the day he and Jude had first met: the captain of the Devils and the top player. And Jude got to do what he liked the best. Lionel had gotten away from Oscar and the man himself wasn’t going to bother them anymore. The house was still a work in progress, but it was going pretty smoothly. So everything was perfect. But happiness never lasts long, and they both should’ve known that.

Jude was still smiling when he stepped into his office. Zero had gone to meet with Pete and talk about their future plans. Jude felt his heart swell in his chest when he thought about his life. Never, in a million years, Jude would’ve thought he could be so, completely happy. Just a little over two years ago he was a junior agent, wanting nothing more than to make Oscar happy. Now he was EVP, he had two best friends and one of them was his lifelong partner. 

Jude had just enough time to sit behind his desk when he heard someone walk in. At first he thought it was Zero and he looked up with a wide smile on his face. But when he saw detective De Sario step in, the smile disappeared. 

“Detective. What are you doing here?” Jude stood up from his chair and greeted the man with a handshake. Just the presence of the detective made Jude feel nervous. 

“There’s just something I wanted to clear up from the night Jelena was shot.” De Sario said and pointed towards the chair at Jude’s desk. “May I?”

“Yes, of course. Please, sit.” Jude blurted and sat down as well. The nervousness was creeping into his voice, making him fully aware of how he was acting. They had talked about the story Gideon had made up when he had thought Jude was the one who shot Jelena. Jude had thought he had no need for that, but then Gideon had told him that this man had asked questions about Jude from him, so he had changed his mind.

“Could you repeat, one more time, your movement during that time?” Detective De Sario asked and leaned back in his chair as if he prepared for a long story.

Jude took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering: “Actually, I have a confession to make.” He tried to smile as innocently as possible and looked up at the detective. The man’s eyebrows lifted up and he unconsciously leaned forward. “I might’ve lied, just a little. I wasn’t at the loading docks during that time.”

“So where were you?” De Sario stared at him so hard that Jude felt like he was able to see right through him.

“I… I was at the locker rooms. With Zero.” Jude fiddled with his hands, hoping that he sounded surer than he felt. 

De Sario narrowed his eyes. “Why didn’t neither of you told me about it before?” 

“If it became a public knowledge, both of our jobs would’ve been at stake.” Jude squeezed his hands together under the table. Telling the next pit was a bit embarrassing, but it was better than to end up in jail. He leaned slightly forward and almost whispered: “We had sex.” 

“So?” De Sario asked, unfazed by Jude’s confession. “That’s quite normal for a grown up couple. Why would you hide such a thing for so long? If I were you, I would’ve told it right away. I mean you both would’ve had an alibi for the night.” 

Jude was taken aback by the question. He hadn’t expected such a reaction. “I… umm… I asked Zero not to talk about it. Like I said, it would’ve caused me to lose my job.”

“But weren’t you in impression that Jelena had already fired you?” De Sario asked and corrected his position so he was a little bit closer to Jude.

Jude felt like his throat was going to dry up. He had to swallow to get his voice heard. “I had forgotten about it.” The detective didn’t seem impressed about his answer. “You can ask Zero too.” He quickly added.

“Oh, I will.” De Sario said. “But I need something more specific from you. Can you tell me anything Zero can verify?”

Jude felt his neck and ears go red as he tried to remember what he had agreed on with Zero. “Sure… we umm… argued more about him leaving L.A. and eventually we came to a conclusion that Zero would stay here at least a month longer. I told him I’d figure something out for Lionel to get away from Oscar during that time. So we were happy about that and kissed and then started to undress…”

“Okay, I think that’s enough.” De Sario interrupted him and Jude felt even more embarrassed than before. “If you don’t mind, I’ll call Zero and ask him if he can clarify that?”

“Of course, go ahead. He should be downstairs talking with the coach of the Devils.” Jude said and watched as the man dialed Zero’s number and walked to the corridor. 

The minute De Sario disappeared behind the corned, Jude let out a breath he had been holding and leaned back in his chair. His stress levels had rose to the maximum in just a few minutes and he hated it.

Jude listened as De Sario talked with Zero. He couldn’t know what Zero was telling him, but the detective didn’t seem to argue with him about any contradictions. Soon the man returned and put his phone away. Jude quickly sat upright again.

“Zero told the same things as you did.” De Sario stood in the middle of the room. “Things seems to be in order for now. I just want you to know that if we find any evidence that supports either of your involvement in this case, your alibi won’t pass in court.”

Jude nodded, but could feel the anxiousness rise up all the same.

“You had a plenty of time to come up with something and an alibi coming from your partner isn’t often the most reliable one.” The detective examined Jude’s reaction for a moment before continuing: “I just wanted to give you some heads-up. We will find the one who shot Jelena, so there **is** going to be a trial at some point.”

“I hope you do.” Jude said without any emotion in his voice. He had no idea who did it, but since things had calmed down considerably after that, he didn’t really care who had done it.

The detective nodded and turned towards the door. “I’ll see you later, Jude. Have a nice day.”

Jude couldn’t believe that the overwhelming happiness he had felt just a moment ago had disappeared completely and was now replaced by a cold fear in his guts. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Zero coming in almost half an hour later.

“Pete said he’s going to play me fully on the next rehearsal game. Things couldn’t be better. And you know what…?” Zero stopped talking when he saw Jude’s solemn expression. He looked like he had been hit by a car or something. “You alright?” Zero walked straight to the other side of the desk and leaned against it.

“What do you think?” Jude lifted his hand up in frustration. He really needed some sleep right now.

“The detective came by, didn’t he?” Zero asked. “You did tell him the story, right?”

Jude looked up at him like he had lost his mind. “Of course I did.”

Zero grinned and gave Jude’s arm a pat. “Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

“You really think he bought that?” Jude frowned and Zero could see the absolute despair in his eyes, like the time when Oscar had disowned him. 

Zero felt an uncomfortable twist in his guts as he realized how bad Jude felt right now. “Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. The main thing is that there’s no evidence against you. I mean there couldn’t be because you haven’t done anything wrong.” Zero pushed himself away from the desk and turned Jude’s chair so they were facing each other. “Everything will be alright. Let’s just live by the day and see what comes up next. We can push through this together, okay?” 

Zero felt relieved to see Jude smile for the first time and it soon caught his lips too. “You’re right. I should try to relax.” Jude said and smoothed the fabric of Zero’s t-shirt along his shoulders. 

“That’s the spirit.” Zero grinned and leaned down to kiss Jude’s forehead.

 

 

A week later, Zero was returning home from the team’s first rehearsal. He had been overwhelmed by joy of playing, even though it wasn’t an actual game yet. They still didn’t have a replacement for Derek, or actually the vacant spot on the team. In the end no one else but Zero could be able to fill Derek’s shoes. Pete had been annoyed that he wasn’t able to contemplate how they would approach their rehearsals since they had no idea who the new player would be and what addition he could bring to the team. But Zero couldn't care less. He was just happy to be able to play.

Jude was on the phone when Zero walked in. He was pacing around the living room and didn’t even notice him enter.

“No, I already talked with the board and Miss. Howard.” Jude said with strained voice. “They all agreed with me. Yes… I understand…”

Zero was able to hear the man’s voice as he almost yelled at Jude. Zero dropped his keys to the nearest counter, the sound making Jude look towards him and roll his eyes. Zero grinned and walked behind Jude, when he concentrated back to the phone call. He wrapped his arms around Jude’s waist and pressed his chest against his back. Jude almost jumped by the sudden intimacy. Zero kissed his nape just above the collar of his suit. 

“Yes, of course you can return back to me with a new offer.” Jude said and continued to listen at the man on the other side.

Zero lifted his hand so that Jude was able to see it and showed two fingers at him.

“Look, I have to go. I have a meeting at four. They’ve come to pick me up already.” Jude lied smoothly.

Zero licked his lips before saying loudly so that the man could hear him: “The limo is waiting for you, Mr. Kinkade.”

“We’ll talk later. Okay, bye.” Jude finally hang up and put the phone to his pocket. “That man is driving me crazy.” He let out a repressed sigh and turned so he could face Zero. “How can I repay you for saving me?” He asked and let Zero pull them together from his hips. 

“Hmmm… Maybe I can come up with something.” Zero smiled wickedly and ran his hands down to squeeze Jude’s buttocks. 

Jude smiled widely and leaned forward to kiss him. Zero had prepared for a nice, long evening sex when Jude suddenly ripped his shirt open and started to guide them towards the bedroom at the same time sucking on Zero’s lips almost desperately. 

“What’s the rush?” Zero asked when he managed to get their lips apart for a second.

Jude stepped back so he was able to get his own shirt off. “I have work to do and the guy is going to call me back in fifteen minutes and if I don’t answer…” Jude talked quickly and out of breathe. He closed the distance between them again and started to unbuckle Zero’s belt. “…he’s going to call to Jelena and she’s going to be pissed at him and then we won’t get the deal we want.”

Zero just watched dumbfound as Jude opened the zipper and gasped when he slid his hand inside his boxers.

“So if you want this...” Jude smiled triumphantly. “…we have to be quick.”

Zero hated that Jude was so busy that he didn’t even have half an hour to spend with him during a day, but he didn’t complain however.

They were on the bed before Zero could even think of getting there. Finally he started to catch up as well and kissed Jude hungrily while moving his hand over Jude’s broad chest. Jude smiled against the kiss before ending it. He pulled down Zero’s jeans and boxers in one go and started to suck on his dick almost instantly. Zero let out a deep moan and rested his head against the bed. His whole body was aching from the practice game earlier but now all the pain was slowly melting away.

Even after such a short foreplay, it didn’t take long for Zero to finish. Jude had become excellent at giving blowjobs and was able to drive him on the edge so fast that Zero wondered how it was even possible. Zero patted Jude’s arm for notice but Jude didn’t move back and swallowed his come without complaints.

“I love you, Jude.” Zero laughed out loud and felt Jude move back up against his body.

“I love you too.” Jude said and was about to kiss him when his phone began to vibrate on his pocket. They both felt it and Zero would’ve laughed about it, if Jude’s expression hadn’t turned to frustration from stress.

“Don’t answer.” Zero pleaded but Jude dig up the phone.

“I have to.” He said after looking who was calling. He gave a quick kiss to Zero’s lips before sitting up. “James, how are you?” Jude answered to the call with a fake excitement. 

Zero sighed and pulled up his boxers when he noticed the bulging erection inside Jude’s trousers. He looked up at Jude as he sneaked his hands to cup his crotch. Jude gasped in surprise and looked at him with ‘what the fuck’ expression. Zero only grinned and waved for him to continue the call.

“I’m sorry, it was nothing. I just hit my toe to a table chair.” Jude quickly said to the phone and closed his eyes as he prepared for another overly long phone call with this man.

Zero pressed his mouth against Jude’s crotch and traveled his hands up and down his thighs. At first Jude tried to yank his arms away but hesitantly gave in when Zero guided him to lie down on the bed.

“It’ll make the phone call so much worthwhile.” He whispered to Jude’s other ear before kissing his way down to give Jude’s cock its needed attention. 

Jude watched as Gideon sucked him and soon realized he hadn’t heard a word James had said, but it didn’t matter, since he still kept on going about some impossible visions he had planned for the future. So Jude let himself enjoy the moment and occasionally hummed in agreement, at the same time trying not to gasp out loud. He hated how much Gideon was enjoying this and swore to have a serious talk with him about not to disturb his calls with important liaisons. 

 

 

Jude had barely put his clothes on when his phone rang again.

“Should I be jealous that you’re so popular?” Zero grinned lazily from the bed.

Jude mock laughed at him before answering. Zero stretched in the bed and wondered if he could help Jude at something. The man had refused to let him meddle with the house project and everything else seemed to be out of his expertise-zone. 

“Yeah, sure I can, it’s just…” 

Zero watched as Jude rubbed his eyes and felt his chest tighten. Jude had so many things to go on that it looked like he might snap at any minute. 

“Sure.” Jude side glanced at Zero while he listened at the person on the other end. Then he walked out of the bedroom and disappeared behind the corner. 

Zero frowned, maybe it was some kind of confidential phone call, but he was still able to make out some words before Jude walked out of his hearing range: “No, I heard the gunshot and went to check it out…”

Zero felt anger swell in his guts. The stubborn detective was harassing Jude again. The man had clearly decided it was Jude who had shot Jelena. On some level he couldn’t blame the man, he himself had suspected that Jude had shot Jelena, but that was only because he had thought Jude was capable of doing anything for him. Detective De Sario however, knew nothing about Jude and harassing him like that was something Zero wasn’t able to digest easily. 

“I didn’t know it was a gunshot before I arrived at the office.” Jude explained the same things he had explained hundreds of times before. He knew it was only the detective’s way of getting the guilty party to confess, but it was still getting on his nerves. “I told Zero that he didn’t need to come with me.” Jude said as De Sario asked why they didn’t go check things out together.

“Okay, bye.” Jude hang up the call. He looked at the clock. It was surprisingly late already and he hadn’t even started his paperwork. 

“Why didn’t you tell me he’s persecuting you?” Jude jumped when he heard Gideon’s voice behind him.

“I didn’t want to bother you.” He answered truthfully.

“I don’t mind it bothering me if it has something to do with you.” Zero walked to Jude and took the phone from him, putting it on mute. “They can wait till tomorrow” He quickly said when Jude tried to protest. “You need some rest, seriously.”

“I know, but right now, I really need to do some work.” Jude tried to make Gideon understand that he couldn’t rest until all the major projects were dealt with. “As soon as the recruiting the new player is over and the season starts, things will settle down.”

Zero frowned at him, not convinced, but he still nodded in agreement. “I’ll handle the detective, okay? So you can concentrate on everything else.”

“How are you…?” Jude started but Zero just grinned at him.

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure something out.” He leaned forward and gave Jude a light kiss. “Now get to work and I’ll order us something to eat.” He slapped Jude’s ass before going towards the kitchen.

 


	2. Dine with enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments and kudos! Joined by blood or trust just got its 200th kudos. So happy! I hope you like this story as much. I'll try to download chapters little faster from now on.

The season started with Devils’ home game. They were still one man short, but the rumors dwelt deep on who the new player might be. Zero had tried to fish some information from Jude, but even his boyfriend didn’t know who they would select from all the potential players. 

Zero had tried to figure out a way to get De Sario from Jude’s back. He had come up with an idea during their rehearsal game a day earlier. He only needed to put on his charm to get what he wanted… and just a little bit of his cash as well. 

The opportunity showed itself when Zero made his way to the locker rooms. He saw Kyle walking towards them and deliberately lag behind from the rest of the team.

“Kyle, you have a minute?” He said as loudly as he was able to, so no one on the team could hear him.

Kyle jumped from the unexpected contact. She looked at him like she waited for some kind of bad news. “Only a minute. What do you want?”

Zero looked after the team to make sure they kept on going without him, before leaning a bit closer to Kyle. She looked around as well and leaned a little further away not really sure what Zero was up to. 

“We have a bit of a problem with the detective who’s working on Jelena’s case.” He started and examined her reaction carefully.

“What does it have to do with me?” Kyle asked, as he had expected her to. 

“Nothing directly, but I have a favor to ask. I’ll pay you generously, of course.” Zero smirked when he saw Kyle’s interest rise.

“What do you want me to do?” She smiled widely and Zero knew he had been right about her. She was willing to do anything for some extra money.

 

 

Jude bump on Kyle the next day. He was on his way to a meeting with the board, when they crossed each other on the hallway.

“Jude! So glad to see you walk free.” Kyle beamed when she walked pass him.

Jude stopped to his tracks and turned around with a frown on his face. “What do you mean?”

Kyle stopped as well and looked at him with wide eyes. “I mean that the detective must’ve bought my story. Zero rewarded me lavishly, so there’s no need for you to thank me.”

“Zero did what?” Jude’s suspicions started to rise.

“He didn’t tell you? Oh my…” Kyle grimaced and looked around for a quick escape, but she couldn’t come up with an excuse to leave.

“Tell me what?” Jude was starting to get annoyed. He was busy and even though he liked Kyle, she was getting on his nerves right now.

“I’m sure you should ask him… Oh what the heck!” She was sure Zero wouldn’t mind if she told Jude the truth. After all, she thought it was sweet for him to go through so much trouble just to get his boyfriend off the hook. “He asked me to lie to the detective. To confirm your alibi.”

Jude processed her words for a moment before his whole body tensed and his professional mask trembled to nervous glance around the hallway. “So you…” He started and Kyle suppressed a laugh when she watched him fiddle with his hands.

“I told him I had a little sneak a peek at your… private session.” Kyle grinned, but when Jude didn’t seem even a bit of amused, she quickly added: “I think it’s sweet for someone to do such a thing. Although it was quite weird to tell all the details…”

“Okay, I get it.” Jude interrupted her and felt extremely flushed right at the moment. He couldn’t believe Zero had made Kyle do that, even though the whole locker room sex was made up, but she couldn’t know that. “Umm…” Jude tried fiercely to collect his thought. “I think I own you thanks. Let me buy you a dinner tonight.”

Kyle was clearly surprised by the gesture, but eventually she smiled and nodded. “That would be nice. Tell Zero to join us too. I can stick to my story properly when I see you guys together. See ya!” 

Jude stared after her with stunned expression. Zero was so going to hear about this.

 

 

“Why an earth did I invite her to dinner?” Jude complained as he sat on the passenger’s seat of Zero’s car. “I can’t even look her in the eyes anymore.”

Zero tried to suppress a smile and concentrate on driving. Jude had been pissed to hear that he had paid Kyle to give them an alibi, but instead of remorse, Zero had felt extremely amused. For a moment he had been sure that Jude was going to kick him out of his house, but in the end he had said that since Kyle’s testimony stopped De Sario from calling him, he could forgive the means Zero had used to achieve that.

“Don’t stress about it, Jude. Kyle can taunt us a little bit, but she’s fine.” Zero tried to make Jude feel a little better. After all, they were in the same boat when it came to Kyle, but Jude just side glanced at him.

They fell to a comfortable silence for a long moment. Zero drummed the wheel with his fingers, while listening to the radio. After a moment he glanced towards Jude and resisted the urge to grab his phone and throw it out of the window to the highway where it belonged. Jude was texting fast to someone and by the frown on his face, it had something to do with work. 

“Stop it.” Jude suddenly muttered.

“What?” Zero asked, not quite sure if he was talking to himself or to him.

Jude looked at him and the corner of his mouth rose a little. “Thinking about stealing my phone and throwing it out of the window. I’ll turn it off when we get to the restaurant.”

“I’ll hold on to that.” Zero smiled, but wished that Jude had given him a reason to snatch his phone.

 

 

Neither Jude nor Zero had really spent time with Kyle before. During the meal, Jude realized that this was actually a pretty good change to get to know her and it could improve their work relationship as well. At least Jude learned that Kyle talked. A lot.

“I must say I was surprised to find out that you were a couple. Just for curiosity: how long had it been going on?” Kyle asked and looked eagerly between them. Jude and Zero glanced at each other. Not sure how they could even answer to that. “You don’t need to tell me. By the way, Jude, do you know if Jelena have decided the date for auditions for the new Devil girl?” 

Jude had to search his memory for a moment to remember what Jelena had mentioned about the dancers. “She was thinking about next week when the team is in Phoenix.”

“I better talk with her tomorrow then. Please, excuse me, I have to go to the powder room.” Kyle said and stood up, almost tripping over when she started to walk. “I’m getting pretty tipsy. You better hold back the wine from now on.”

Zero hadn’t wanted to be reminded of Phoenix. He had hoped that Jude’s workload was lighter by the time he had to go there so he could come with him, but it seemed that wasn’t going to happen. Being away for days because of games was the down part of being professional athletic. It was fine as long as Zero knew Jude was going to join him in a day or two, but this time it seemed like Jude wasn’t going to make it at all.

The loud sound of phone ringing made him come out of his thoughts. “You said you turned that off.” Zero frowned when Jude checked his phone.

“It’s not my work phone.” Jude said and slid the phone against the table under Zero’s nose.

It was a message from Lionel: Where are you?

Zero tapped answer ‘he’s busy’ to her and added: xx Zero. Jude took the phone away from him and rolled his eyes. Zero just grinned, he loved teasing Lionel, especially when she wasn’t around. Jude send the name of the restaurant and said that he would call her later.

Kyle returned soon after and sighed when she looked at the full glass of wine that the waitress had poured to her while she was away. Wine had been part of the night’s menu and Kyle was sure she wasn’t going to make it home if the waitress kept filling her glass as often as she did. Jude had drank only water and Zero downed his wine without a problem. 

“You’re impossible man to reach sometimes.” They all looked surprised to see Lionel walking to their table and sitting down next to Kyle.

Kyle looked at Jude and Zero with wide eyes. “What are you doing here?” She then asked from Lionel the same question they all were thinking.

Lionel just glared at her before turning to Jude. “Can you believe it? I wasn’t let inside the arena today. Like I haven’t done anything to that team.” She then asked and waved to the waitress to bring her something strong to drink.

“Here, you can have mine.” Kyle moved her glass in front of Lionel.

“Why did you even try to go there?” Jude asked, not even trying to get Lionel answer Kyle’s question when she clearly wasn’t in the mood to answer.

“I needed to talk with someone. Oh, which reminds me: the sperm donor contacted me and said that he has an alibi for the night I was locked inside the garage. What a load of bullshit.” Lionel took a huge gulp of the glass and sighed. 

“The who?” Kyle looked at Jude who shrugged at her.

“You came here just to tell us that?” Zero narrowed his eyes and stared at Lionel. The hair at the back of his neck stood up by just a mention of the man. Jude didn’t need Oscar to be added to his pile of stressful affairs.

“I came here so you can give me a pass to the arena.” Lionel glared back at Zero. 

“I can call later to the arena's security guard to let you in.” Jude promised. “You want a desert?”

“No, but thanks for asking.” Lionel drank the last drops of wine and stood up. “And thanks for the kisses, Zero. I’ll give Jude the task to return them for me. Bye.” She leaned over to kiss Jude’s cheek before walking away.

“She’s something.” Kyle said, almost adoringly. The waitress returned to their table and put a glass of whiskey in front of her. “I didn’t order this.” Kyle tried to say, but the waitress was already gone. She had given her glass of wine away only to be replaced by stronger liquid. 

“I can drink that.” Jude offered. Zero looked worriedly as Jude took a long sip from it. It seemed hearing about Oscar still had the same effect on him.

 

 

It was Devil’s last practice before their next game in Phoenix. Zero could see almost everyone on the team were a little strained. It seemed that even though they had won their first game, Derek’s departure from the team, was troubling them. It made Zero realize that he needed to take his responsible of being the captain more seriously from now on, but he had no idea how. Yes, he get on pretty well with the rest of the team, but lately he had been so busy with Jude, that he hadn’t had a lot of time to socialize with his teammates out of the arena.

“Okay, let’s take a break!” Pete shouted and clapped his hands to get their attention.

Zero headed to the side of the court, where Jude had been overseeing their game. Jude smiled when he walked closer. Zero stood beside him, close enough so their arms were touching.

“Any ideas?” Zero asked, leaning a little bit closer to him.

“About what?” Jude asked and looked at him.

“How to team with the others?” Zero eyed his teammates as they were drinking water and talking with Pete at the other side of the court.

“You’re asking me how to make friends?” Jude asked, a little amused. “I’m not exactly an expert on that.”

“You have one more than I do.” Zero grinned at him.

“You mean Lionel? She’s your friend too.” Zero lifted his eyebrows in surprise of Jude’s remark.

“We’re doing better, but still far away from that.” Zero had started to like Lionel, just a little bit. She was willing to do anything for Jude and Zero could really look up to that.

Jude shook his head a little and returned to their original topic. “From professional point of view: you could try to praise others a little more and give some constructive feedback. I’m sure you’ve noticed in which they’re good at and what they need to improve. They look up to you and appreciate what you have to say.” Jude looked at him to see if he was listening. “It’s surprising how well others can see your faults.”

Zero had been looking towards the court, but now turned to look at Jude with a little smile on his face. “Are you implying something?” He then teased.

“Just a little.” Jude smiled back at him. He touched Gideon’s back. “I promised to meet Jelena. See you later.” He leaned closer to kiss his cheek, but Zero turned his face so that their lips could meet.

“I’ll be at your place.” Zero said after Jude pulled away to leave. He knew their practice was going to be over before Jude got out of work.

Pete ordered them back on court before giving them liberty to take it easy for the rest of the evening. Zero stayed longer in the locker rooms than others. He went over their game tactics in his mind and wondered how he could’ve done things differently to improve his playing. At the same time he also wondered what kind of feedback he should give to the others. 

His thoughts were interrupted by his phone vibrating in his bag. He checked the message, which was from Jelena. She wanted to meet with him and Jude tonight. At the end was an address of a restaurant and a time. Zero looked at the clock and sighed in annoyance. He would have to leave now if he wanted to change clothes at home. 

 

 

There was a dress code in the restaurant so Zero had to wear a suit just to get in, but he walked inside casually, wanting nothing more than to get out of the place. He liked the restaurant; there was good food and the customer service was top-notch, but dining with Jelena was far from pleasant. He preferred an evening alone with Jude. 

The waitress escorted him to the right table where Jelena was already sitting. Zero looked around before taking a seat across from her.

“Jude’s still not here?” He asked and nodded at the waitress as she placed the menu in front of him.

“Oh, unfortunately he can’t join us.” Jelena smiled her fake smile at him. “It seems a sudden work assignment came up that required his immediate attention.”

Zero resisted the urge to curse out loud. He wasn’t expecting to dine alone with Jelena. “I’ll call him. He needs to eat at some poi…”

“He’s fine. He said he was going to order something to the arena.” Jelena interrupted him before opening the menu and concentrating at that. “I already ordered us a bottle of wine.”

Zero shrugged, he was fine by that. “So what was it that you needed to discuss with me that it couldn’t wait till tomorrow?” He asked as he glanced through the menu. 

“I just wanted to talk about your thoughts about the team’s future. You’re the captain after all.” Jelena said without looking up at him.

“I thought you’ve already talked that through with Pete.” Zero accepted fondly the wine glass that was poured to him. He really needed it to get himself through this evening. In the other hand he needed to take it easy, because of the upcoming game, but a few glasses of wine wasn't going to hurt anyone.

“I have, but you being the captain, I thought I’d hear you out as well. You can speak for the players.” Jelena finally put the menu down and looked at him with her ‘straight to business’ kind of look.

“Okay, but I still can’t see what’s so urgent about it.” Zero said and looked back at her.

“There’s nothing urgent about it, not really. I just thought I liked to have some company for the dinner.” Jelena smirked and took a sip from her glass of wine as well.

Zero cursed his luck for not having Jude there. It was their last night off too since he was supposed to leave to Phoenix tomorrow.

 

 

Zero had a hard time walking straight. It wasn’t like him to get this drunk just because of few glasses of wine. His mind tried fiercely to find out why, but something was interrupting his thinking. They stepped outside of the restaurant to the cool nighttime air.

“Zero.” Jelena called out his name and he turned to look at her. “There’s something I wanted to talk with you about.” They stopped to the side of the road where her car was waiting. 

“I thought we already did.” Zero was about to turn towards the nearest taxi when Jelena took hold of his arm and forced him to stay put. Before Zero even registered what was going on, Jelena had taken hold of his tie and pulled him down so she was able to press her lips against his, almost causing him to lose his balance. For a moment Zero was in shock. When his mind caught up what was going on, he forcefully pushed Jelena away.

“What the hell are you doing?” Zero yelled and almost lost his balance again when the world started to spin around him. 

“What do you mean?” Jelena asked, almost convincingly baffled. 

Zero felt his head clear a little by the sudden turn of events. “Am I some kind of pawn to your newest scheme?”

Jelena let out a mocked laugh. “Oh, please, like you didn’t enjoy it.” She stepped closer to him and brushed her hand lightly against his. “You and I had a pretty good time together.” She whispered as close to his face as she was able to reach.

“In case you haven’t noticed: I’m with Jude.” Zero drew his hand away from hers.

“So you’re telling me he can satisfy your needs completely? Don’t you miss… woman’s touch?” Jelena pressed even closer, so her breasts nestled against his chest.

“You…” Zero took hold of her shoulders and pushed her away from him. “…were just part of my plan getting on Terrence’s nerves. Nothing more.” 

Even in his drunk state Zero was sure he saw a flash of hurt in Jelena’s eyes, but it was replaced by the hard and insensitive mask of hers. 

“If I hadn’t seen how much you enjoyed having sex with me, I would’ve almost believed you.” She said and cocked her head towards the limousine. “Just get in the car. I’ll drive you home.”

“I am not coming into the same car with you.” Zero said and looked around for a taxi but it seemed many other people were in the same mission.

“What? You’re afraid something might happen?” Jelena looked him up and down with narrowed eyes, challenging him.

Zero wanted to tell that he didn’t want her company and that he was fully capable of getting home by himself, but somehow he ended up sitting at the back of the limo. 

During the drive Zero felt his drunkenness wear off just a little bit. He ignored Jelena, who sat at the opposite side of the bench in flirty position, staring at him. Zero’s mind pondered at the kiss between him and her and wondered how Jude would react. But right now he was too tired of having a convincing conversation how he would never cheat on Jude, that he didn’t even protest, when Jelena dropped him off at his own apartment instead of Jude’s.


	3. No smoke without a fire

It was Jelena’s first day at work since she had gotten out of the hospital. She headed towards Jude’s office, wanting to make sure he was aware that she was the boss from now on. As she approached his office, she was able to hear voices from the inside. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the voices clearly belonged to Jude and Zero. At first Jelena was going to just walk in, not caring if she was interrupting something, but stopped when she stepped to the doorway. 

The pair was standing side by side, leaning over Jude’s desk, looking at something. 

“The kitchen would be open to the living room. There’s floor to ceiling windows there…” Jude was talking as he moved his hand across the desk. Jelena soon realized they were probably looking at the drawing of the house they were rumored to be building. 

Slowly her attention was drawn to Zero, or more accurately to his way of looking at Jude. Zero was staring at him as he spoke, before leaning his forehead against the side of Jude’s head, making Jude laugh slightly.  
Then he snuggled Jude’s neck and shoulder, all the while his hand stayed firmly at his shoulder, keeping Jude close. He looked like he adored the ground Jude was standing on.

That’s when Jelena put her mind to her next project: Zero. Her ex had desperately tried to make their relationship work, but she had chosen Terrence over him. Now thing were different and Jelena was positive Zero would come running back to her if she wanted him to. She could’ve been there to stand at Jude’s place if she had chosen Zero. And if the plan backfired, it would still give her opportunity to get rid of Zero for good. If he didn’t want her, then he would be better off somewhere else. 

Jelena didn’t admit to herself that the want, she felt towards Zero, was anything else than pure selfishness. Deep down, she was frightened as hell. She had a little kid to look after now, a hard time-consuming job and no one to depend on. When she was shot, she had a cold awakening when no one was there to sit by her side. No Raquel, no Terrence and not even Zero. 

 

Zero woke up, fully clothed, in an awkward position from atop of Jude’s couch. His head was throbbing and when he sat up the whole world seemed to shift with him. With a loud sight, he rubbed his tired eyes and temples. He had no recall how he had fallen asleep at the couch and barely remembered what had happened before he got home.  
Zero noticed his phone on the coffee table and reached out to check the time: 10.35 p.m.

“Fuck.” He muttered to himself. He had been out cold for two hours. Zero turned to his back and stared at the ceiling. He listened, if he could hear any noises which would indicate that Jude was home, but there was nothing more than a steady hum of the refrigerator. Jude was probably still at work. 

With an old habit after a drunken night, he checked if he had send any text messages which he would later regret. There was one, which had been send at 8.05 p.m. but it was only to Jude. It was then when Zero remembered that Jelena had kissed him and he quickly opened the message to see if he had blurted the news out that way.

_Mornig sleapyhe… i need t tallllk wth y. Meet m a mgeyjjogipa._

Zero stared at his text message for a moment before giving up on understanding what he had tried to write. Jude’s answer was a bit more clear:

_Morning? It’s eight p.m., stupid. I’m at work. Will take a few more hours. Get some sleep <3_

Zero smiled to Jude’s text, but felt guilt hit his chest right after. He wasn’t sure why. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Zero dialed Jude’s number, wishing his boyfriend would be able to come home soon since he wasn’t able to move anywhere for a while. To his disappointment Jude didn’t answer. So he left a message and asked him to arrive at his place.

After Zero ended the call, he threw the phone to the table and leaned back against the coach. He closed his eyes and wished he could get a painkiller in an instant, without actually moving anywhere. Slowly he started recall the visit to the restaurant. He remembered clearly talking about his place on the team with Jelena and wondering why she had summoned him there because of that. He remembered the first glass of wine but then his memory was filled with blank spots. He barely remembered being left in front of his apartment, but he had no recollection of getting at Jude’s place. The only conclusion was that Jelena had put something on his second glass of wine, but why, Zero could only speculate.

 

When Jude hadn’t answered to him in an hour, Zero decided to took the opportunity to rampage through the kitchen to see if there was anything salty in there. He had taken two painkillers and drank liters of water and was slowly starting to feel normal. 

Zero remembered buying a bag of chips the other day, but Jude was a master of hiding stuff, especially if it was something delicious. Zero knew he wasn’t allowed to eat anything fatty during his diet, but this was an exception. Finally he found the chips from behind a kettle and with a wide grin snatched it to himself as if someone could’ve stopped him. _‘Jude zero, Zero one’_ , he though as he opened it and walked to the bedroom. 

Zero almost collapsed to the Jude’s side of the bed and turned the TV on. He flickered through the channels and eventually settled for news broadcast. He was just about to open the bag of chips, when the news anchor’s words caught his attention:

_The firefighters are still trying to put down the blaze that started almost an hour ago at the Los Angeles basketball arena._

Zero dropped the bag to his laps and leaned closer to the TV. A video footage emerged to the screen which showed the arena, his arena, covered in smoke and flames. 

Zero frantically took hold of his phone, the bag of chips now forgotten. He tried to call Jude again, but it went straight to the voicemail. Zero felt like he couldn’t breathe.

 

Jude was exhausted. He had been working on the new player’s contract for hours now and even though he was good at his job and the new guy wasn’t such a big star yet, the man’s agency was truly impossible to negotiate with. He had made several propositions to the contract and had tried to figure out a timeline for meetings, but everything he recommended was shot down. 

Jude knocked on Jelena’s door, but there was no answer. He had to press his eyes shut and take a deep breath to keep himself from exploding. Jelena had specifically asked him to pick some papers she had filled from her office and now she wasn’t even there. Jude checked his clock. At first he thought his tired eyes just saw wrong, but when he double-checked the time was still 9.40 p.m. 

_‘Right, that’s it.’_ He thought. _‘If I have to break this door up, I’ll do it.’_ Jude was so close to just kick the door in, but decided to try the handle before actually getting to action. To his surprise the door opened easily. Jelena must’ve left it open. Only then he remembered that she had messaged him that knowledge just half an hour ago. He really needed some sleep.

Jude shut the door behind him and strolled to Jelena’s desk. The tabletop was clean, like no one had been working there for days. Jude hoped he was wrong about that. Only two papers laid on the surface and he quickly read them through to see if those were what he needed. He was half way browsing the second paper when he heard noise coming from outside the door. Like someone had spilled a glass of water to the floor.

“Hello?” Jude called out, but there was no answer. His imagination started to run as he wondered who beside himself could be at the arena this time of night. Soon he realized it was probably just a cleaning lady. He sighed and continued reading. The papers were all set so he took one glance around the room, to see if he had missed something before stepping outside.

A pungent odor filled his nose. He looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the smell when he saw that the door to Jelena’s office and floor was wet from something. Jude touched the liquid and brought his fingers to his nose. 

“Gas?” He said out loud and frowned. The trail of liquid continued along the corridor and disappeared behind the corner. Jude felt a twist in his guts and his mind started to work on a fastest way to get out of the arena.

 

Pete coughed loudly as he watched the arena burn. The flames looked almost beautiful against the dark night sky. He had been the last one to exit the building and now his lungs were full of smoke. He had been working abnormally late and saw only two other people exit the arena when the fire alarms had gone off. Thankfully the fire hadn’t started earlier that day when the arena had been full of people. 

Sloane held his arm tightly, not wanting to let go. She had stayed near him the moment they had met outside. A loud bang echoed in the air and it made her jump.

“What was that?” She asked and tried to look for the source of the sound.

“It’s probably the structures giving in. I hope they’ll be able to put it down before the whole arena turns to dust.” Pete had only seen smoke coming out of the building, but it escaladed quickly and tens of fire trucks were scattered around the arena.

At first there had been only few people outside at the parking lot, but fifteen minutes after the fire had started, more and more people had come to watch it, even though the police tried to shoo them away. Luckily the wind was blowing from their direction, so that the smoke wasn’t suffocating the viewers. Jelena had come almost at the same minute, as if she had been able to sense what was going on. She had soon left to discuss with the chief of police.

“Pete!” 

Pete turned around to see Zero heading towards them. He looked around the mass of people, clearly searching for someone.

“Where’s Jude?” He then asked. His voice tense. They stood a good distance away from the burning arena, for safety reasons and also to let the fire fighters to do their jobs. Zero walked straight to the line which the police had determined. 

“I haven’t seen him.” Pete said and glanced towards the arena, not saying out loud but clearly wondering if anyone could survive out, if they were still stuck in there.

“What do you mean you haven’t seen him? Is he still inside?” Zero snapped, almost yelling at him as if it was Pete’s fault that he didn’t know Jude’s whereabouts. He then turned his attention at the arena. “I got to get in.” Zero muttered and started to walk pass the police tapes. 

“Zero! No, no, no, no…!” Pete was just in time to catch Zero from the back of his shirt to stop him. “You’ll get killed if you go in there!” Zero tried to struggle himself free, but luckily two police officers had seen him and came to aid.

“Sir, you cannot go in there. It’s dangerous.” One of them tried to calm him down, but Zero kept on fighting back.

“Zero, he must’ve heard the fire alarms and gotten out.” This time Sloane tried to calm him down. Maybe Jude had left just before the fire and was now at home. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon when he hears the news.” With that Zero relaxed just enough that the officers were able to push him back to a safer area, but they stayed close by, in case he tried another stunt like that.

Zero took a few hesitant steps backwards and ran his hands through his hair. He looked like he was in agony. 

“Have you tried to call him yet?” Sloane asked concerned. She hadn’t had the greatest start with Jude and she still didn’t know what to think of the man. She didn’t consider him as a threat anymore, but she knew what the current Devil’s vice-president was capable of, when he was cornered. Still she wished no harm on him and seeing Zero so upset made her grateful that Ahsha was far away from L.A right now.

“It goes straight to voicemail.” Zero said shaking his head in disbelief. “Did you see him at the arena tonight?” He turned towards Pete who glanced at Sloane, not wanting to answer the question.

“I saw him…” Pete avoided looking Zero in the eyes. “…maybe fifteen minutes before the fire started.”

All the color escaped Zero’s face and he looked like he was ready to throw up. Sloane had always seen Zero as cocky, overly confident man with a constant mask on his face. This time she saw that mask grumble and his eyes showed the fear he felt for his partner. 

“Come. You can sit in our car.” Sloane didn’t hesitate to take Zero’s hand and guide him to sit at the front seat of their car. At first she had feared that Zero would pull his hand free, but then he had followed her without a word. “I’m sure he’s alright.” She squeezed his shoulder and Zero gave her a tight smile before she left him alone to calm down.

 

Just after 2 a.m. things started to calm down. The firefighters were still going to work through the night, but it seemed like the fire was under control. Zero had sat in the car the whole time, deep in his thoughts. He didn’t even notice a woman walking towards him.

“Where’s Jude?” Lionel demanded, when she was close enough for Zero to hear her.

Zero looked up in confusion and shook his head for an answer.

“You don’t know?” Lionel shouted and was now standing over him. She looked between the arena and Zero before her mouth dropped. “Is he in there?”

“I-I don’t know.” Zero managed to say, his voice hoarse. His eyes were red and he had crouched over, which looked unnatural to him.

“If you don’t know then who does?” Lionel looked around again. “Hey, officer!” Her shouting made Zero startle. “Yes, you! Don’t you walk away from me! Fuckers…” She mumbled the last word and turned towards Zero again. “He better not be in there because if he is, I’m going to throw you in as well.”

Zero looked up at her, a frown in his face.

“I told you what I’ll do if you hurt him.” Lionel dropped something heavy on his lap. 

Zero looked down to see a tablet with a gossip magazine’s front page open. He felt his mouth go dry when he saw a picture of him and Jelena kissing. _‘The Devil’s bad boy Zero, caught kissing his ex and the current team’s owner: Jelena Howard.’_ the headline said with large letters. Zero picked up the tablet and realized in horror that it looked like they were kissing romantically in front of the restaurant. It was probably taken at the moment he had lifted his hands to push Jelena away, but the picture made it look like he was caressing her arms instead. Zero concentrated on his face and cursed whoever had taken that photo. At the moment it was shot he had probably blinked, which made it look like his eyes were closed and was enjoying the kiss. 

Zero clicked the article open. It was about his and Jelena’s “heated” kiss and how they had had a lovely time in a romantic restaurant. He was widely accused cheating on Jude and the writer clearly questioned that him being gay, was only another public image to get more sponsors. He felt sick while reading it.

When he finished reading, he felt like his chest was going to explode. He stared at the photo and then abruptly stood up and threw the tablet to the ground, mashing it to hundreds of pieces. Lionel looked at him with wide eyes. 

“Have you gone mad?” She shouted and resisted the urge to slap the man.

Zero didn’t answer and instead walked to Pete. “Where’s Jelena?” He asked with a low voice.

“I saw her just a minute ago.” Pete hesitated to answer and looked around for Jelena. He spotted her, not far away, looking at their direction. She had clearly noticed that they were talking about him.

Zero locked eyes with Jelena and walked straight at her. Without a word he took hold of her arm and started to drag her towards Sloane’s car.

“Let go!” She commanded and tried to yank herself free, but Zero was too strong for her. All the spectators around them watched the scene in horror, but Zero didn’t care. He pushed Jelena to the passenger’s seat before walking to the other side and slamming the door shut.

“Now you’re going to tell me **exactly** what the fuck is going on.” Zero demanded and stared at her like a wild animal, ready to launch for its prey. Jelena had never seen him so angry. Not even when she had told him that she had traded him to another team. Or not when she had sold him to the press as a whoring cheater. 

“Nothing is going on.” Jelena tried, but Zero slammed the wheel so hard that it made her jump. She looked out of the window and tried to calm down. “It was just a kiss.” She said firmly.

“Just a kiss?” Zero shifted a little closer, making Jelena feel trapped. “Then why go through all that trouble to drug me and at the same night the arena is caught on fire?”

Jelena laughed dryly. “Drug you? Maybe you can’t just hold your liquid.” She said looked at him with unamused eyes. 

This time Zero leaned back and shook his head in disbelief. “You are one fucking devious woman…” He said and looked at the arena. There were no flames visible anymore and the amount of smoke had reduced to half from what it was. Fear squeezed his heart as his thoughts returned to Jude. He had tried to think any other explanation for Jude not to pick up his phone than because he was among the flames, but he came up with nothing and it scared the shit out of him.

A hand on his thigh made Zero’s thought stop and he turned to look at Jelena’s hand. She squeezed his leg tightly with her small hand as she leaned closer to him.

“Admit it. You liked the challenge I gave you.” She whispered close to his ear. “I’m sure…” She moved her hand slightly closer to his crotch. “…you miss woman’s touch.”

Zero’s hand stopped her from moving closer and he turned to face her, their noses almost touching.

“Stay the hell away from me.” Zero said with so much venom in his voice that Jelena withdrew her hand without saying anything more. She opened the door and got out, glancing towards him for the last time before slamming the door shut.

Zero rubbed his face with his hands. He was so tired, but he couldn’t sleep. Not yet. A knock on the window made him look out to see a police officer gesturing for him to open the door. Zero did so and the officer introduced himself.

“Someone told me you have an information of a person gone missing. Probably in the arena?” The man asked.

“That’s the problem. I don’t have any information. Jude was at work and now he’s not answering his phone.” Zero pointed towards the arena, frustrated of the stupid questions. 

The man nodded and looked towards the two other officers who were walking towards him. They talked for a moment in a low voice. Zero couldn’t care less what they were talking about and checked his phone in case Jude had tried to call him, but no such luck.

“So you’re positive that he was inside when the fire started?” The officer, who had talked with him, now asked.

“Yeah.” Zero said wearily. The way the officer was looking at him made him feel on edge.

The man pressed his lips together and nodded nervously. “We got information. It seems like the fire men found a body from the ruins.” He finally said and looked sadly at him.

It took a moment for the information to sink in. Zero stared back at the man and it felt like the whole world crushed over him. All the blood escaped to his legs and he was thankful that he was sitting, because otherwise his knees would’ve given in. 

“I’m sorry. We can’t be hundred percent sure if it’s Jude, but no one else has been reported missing.” The officer said and looked at the others, seeking for some support, but they just looked away. 

“What’s going on?” Sloane asked as she walked towards them. The officers told her the same thing they had told Zero and she lifted her hand at her chest in shock. “Thank you from your information. Can you please tell the same to that woman on the dark blue dress over there?” She asked and pointed towards Lionel. The officers agreed and left them.

“Zero, I’m so sorry.” Sloane crouched in front of him and squeezed his knees. He refused to meet her eyes and instead stared to the distance with a blank expression. “Is there anything I can do?” 

“Just… leave me alone.” Zero said with a dull voice.

Sloane stared at him for a moment before nodding and standing up. “I’ll go and check on Lionel.” She said and left.

Few minutes later Lionel walked to him. She didn’t say anything. Just leaned against the car and stared towards whatever Zero was staring.


	4. Burning down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't going to be a long story, but as usual when I start writing something, it escalates to something huge. I've already wrote the whole story, but now I've been thinking of continuing it even more. At least I won't be bored with my life :D  
> This and the following chapter has been hard to write and I'm sure you'll understand as you keep on reading. Hope you don't hate me for this!

Zero had no idea how long he had just sat there. He couldn’t remember what he had been thinking about. His mind swirled around in circles. A voice in his head kept on repeating: _Jude’s dead, Jude’s dead, Jude’s dead_. But it still didn’t sink in. Then he started to vision Jude, trapped inside the arena as the fire surrounded him. Then he imagined Jude’s burned body in the middle of the court and it made him feel like throwing up. He had to swallow hard to keep the contents of his stomach from rising up.

“Oh, thank god!” Lionel suddenly breathed out. Her voice made him look up at her. She pushed herself away from the car and ran away. 

Zero looked after her, wondering what made her leave so abruptly. Then he saw the person she ran towards to and his breath seized in his chest. It was Jude. A sense of overwhelming relief washed over him and he quickly stood up. 

Jude was almost surprised by how fierce Lionel’s hug was when she crashed against him. He had just enough time to see the make up all messy around her eyes. He had never seen her cry. Jude wrapped his arms around her and looked over her shoulder to see Gideon sitting in the car. His boyfriend’s expression made him really think that something was wrong, more than just the burn of the arena. Gideon looked so scared.

“What happened?” Jude asked as Lionel finally let go of him.

“We thought you were dead!” Lionel sniffed loudly and tried to wipe the spread mascara off as delicately as she was able to with her long fingernails. 

“Really?” Jude asked and turned to Gideon when he was only few feet away. Then a realization hit him and Jude felt truly guilty for keeping them waiting for so long. “I’m sorry.” 

Zero wrapped his arms around Jude and held on tight, like his life depended on it. Jude wrapped his arms around his boyfriend as well and breathed in his scent. “I’m sorry.” He whispered against Gideon’s ear.

“As long as you’re okay.” Zero said and pulled back so he was able to see Jude properly. He reached up to touch Jude’s face, as if he could disappear at any second. He trailed his fingers alongside his cheek and hair. There were dark spots of ash on Jude’s skin and he smelled like smoke, but he was unharmed and that was all that mattered.

 

 

Jude fell asleep almost immediately when he sat to the car and woke up only when Zero squeezed his knee.

“Hey, we’re home.” Zero said as he leaned closer to Jude. He hadn’t wanted to wake Jude up when he had been sleeping so peacefully, but spending a night in the car wasn’t a very good idea.

Jude sat up and rubbed his eyes. His whole body was exhausted. “How late is it?” He asked and tried to focus on the time in the car.

“Ten minutes pass three.” Zero said, as exhausted as Jude was. “Let’s go in.” He patted Jude’s knee once more before getting up. 

 

Jude considered just passing out on the couch, but he smelled awful and his stomach was crumbling loudly.

“Go hit the shower. I’ll make us something to eat.” Zero said and smiled to Jude’s overly grateful expression.

“Are you sure? I can make something as well…” Jude started, but Zero just shook his head.

“Go. I’m too agitated to feel tired right now.” Zero ensured him and Jude made his way to the bedroom to get clean clothes. 

Zero started to make some tuna sandwiches. He didn’t feel hungry at all. In fact, the smell of tuna made him feel almost sick. His stomach was still upside down from the past events. It didn’t take him long to prepare the meal and he took the plates to carry them to the bedroom. He didn’t hear the shower running and wondered if Jude was already done. He was surprised to see him standing at the end of the bed, still fully clothed and looking at something.

“What’s wrong?” Zero asked and put the plates down to the side table. Jude visible stiffened from hearing his voice. “Jude?” He asked, now worried.

“I was just…” Jude turned around and showed his phone to him and Zero felt chills go down his spine. It was the picture of the kiss.

“Jude, that’s not what it looks like…” He started but Jude cut him off.

“Then what is it?” He asked and threw the phone to the bed. 

To Zero it felt like Jude revealed all of his weaknesses at once and he struggled to get his thought together to explain. He took a half a step backwards and shrugged. “I-I don’t know. One moment I was going towards a cap and another she was all over me. She must’ve drugged me. I only drank two glasses of wine.”

Zero had to steal himself to look at Jude, but there were no emotions on his face. He was just staring at him.

“Why…” Jude closed his eyes and tried to concentrate even though his thoughts were all over the place. “Why would she do that?”

“I asked her, but of course she denied that there were any motive. You know what she’s like.” Zero looked at Jude, alarmed and scared. It reminded Jude of the time during the prostitute scandal, the way Zero had looked at him when they had first kissed, but this time was different.

“Yes, I know what she’s like and so do you.” Jude paused for a moment to let Zero speak, but he just frowned. “How did this…” Jude waved towards the phone. “…just happened? I get it that you were drunk, but there’s no reason for her just to go and kiss you.” 

“What are you suggesting?” Zero crossed his arms around his chest, going to defensive. 

Jude put his hands on his hips and locked his eyes on Zero’s. “So you’re still saying you didn’t give her any reason to believe you wanted that?”

“Of course not!” Zero was horrified to even hear Jude suggest that. “I hate her guts. You know that, Jude. You know me. I would never do that.”

“Do I?” Jude’s words were like alien language to Zero. “I mean, does anyone truly know you? You’ve been pretending to be someone else your whole life.”

Zero couldn’t help but let out a strained laugh. “So you don’t trust me? Is that it?” Jude didn’t answer but the look on his face confirmed Zero’s thoughts. The sarcastic smile disappeared from Zero’s face and it turned to shock. “How long have you been feeling like that?” He asked, scared for the answer.

Jude seemed to ponder the answer for a moment. “I’m not sure. I would like to say that from moment I saw the picture, but…” Jude swallowed. “…when I think about it… it was probably there from the beginning.”

“Am I hearing right?” Zero asked, completely baffled. 

“When you were with Jelena, you had everything. Then one night you screw it up, just because you were angry at her.” Jude recalled back to the time he was still Zero’s agent. He had thought it back then, that Zero treated everyone how he pleased to get what he wanted. “How do I know you won’t do the same with me? Or that you already haven’t?”

“Because Jelena is Jelena and you…” Zero felt like his head was spinning. He couldn’t believe what was happening when just a minute ago he was overwhelmed with joy by seeing Jude alive and well. “…you are something completely different. Always have been and always will be.”

Zero half expected to see Jude’s face relax and the corner of his mouth lift up, but instead a sad look descended on him and Zero had no idea what else to say.

“I’m not doubting that your love for me, Gideon.” Jude said then with almost emotionless voice. “But things happen and I don’t know if I can trust you.”

“Jude, I’ve never lied to you before and I’ll never lie to you in the future.” Zero said as confidently as he was able to.

Jude rubbed his temples as he felt a headache coming. “I don’t know…”

“Look, let’s just sleep through the night, okay? It’s been hell a long of a day for both of us.” Zero suggested and waited anxiously for Jude’s reply.

“Okay.” Jude said finally. “I’ll go to the shower now.” He walked pass Zero towards the bathroom. He stopped to look at the sandwiches on the table. “I’m not so hungry anymore.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Zero said without looking at Jude. 

They slept at the same bed but far enough for not to touch each other even by accident. They both pretended to be sleeping, but it actually took them both hours to fall asleep.

 

Zero woke up alone. Jude’s side of the bed was still warm so he couldn’t be far. Zero recalled the conversation they had last night and suddenly he didn’t feel like getting up. He stretched his arms over his head and stared at the ceiling. The sound of footsteps made him look towards the door. Jude slowed down when he saw that Zero was awake. He wondered for a moment if he should come in or not, but eventually sat down to the edge of the bed. 

“Hi.” Jude said with a tight smile. He looked exhausted, if possible even more than yesterday.

“Hi.” Zero answered and sat up with a grunt. He looked at Jude warily, waiting for him to say something. He felt oddly nervous, which was something he hadn’t felt around Jude for a while.

“I couldn’t sleep last night.” Jude started, looking down at his hands. “It gave me some time to think. About you and Jelena… and us.” 

Something on Jude’s voice made Zero feel terrified. Like something cold was poured down his back and he couldn’t breathe properly. Zero swallowed and lifted his chin up, preparing himself for a blow. 

Jude swallowed as well and shifted so he was facing Zero properly, but he still didn’t look at him. “I-I need some space for a while.”

Zero took a deep breathe through his nose and looked away from Jude. “What does that mean?” He finally managed to get his voice back.

“I don’t know.” Jude shook his head. “I need some time to think. It’s not just about you. We’re both new to these things and if I can’t trust you then… I don’t know how else we can go on.”

Zero looked at Jude, mouth hanging open. He was fine for Jude wanting to have some space to think. He was fine that Jude needed some time. But he hadn’t expected to hear Jude doubt their relationship.

“Jude, I told you that the kiss wasn’t my fault. I won’t let that ruin us…”

“I don’t want to fight. Please, Zero.” Jude spoke over him, finally meeting his gaze. “Jelena called me few minutes ago. We have a meeting about the arena’s fire and how things go on from here. The team should be there as well. I really don’t have the energy to fight right now.”

Zero felt his heart squeeze in his chest. He saw how stressed out Jude was right now and the worst part was, that he had caused major part of it upon Jude by himself. He would’ve wanted to console Jude, tell him it’s going to be alright, but he found himself just sitting there and agreeing on what Jude was saying him.

 

 

The city hall had offered them a conference room for the meeting. The media was eager to hear how the Devil’s would go on without their arena, so the press conference was being held after that at the same place. All the reporters had gathered around the building hours before the conference and not all their questions were about the fire. Both Jude and Zero heard them ask about the kiss when they walked through them to the city hall. Luckily the police was there to able their bypass and they were able to get inside without answering any questions.

Jelena had called together the high and mighty board members, their biggest sponsors and the whole team. Jude and Zero were seated next to each other and they sat down quietly. Zero still stunned by the turn of their relationship and Jude avoiding any eye contact with him. 

The meeting started with a silent moment for the arena’s security guard, who was found burned in the arena. The police had informed that the fire had started from the main entrance, where the guard was later found. Initial investigations indicated that the cause was arson. No confirmations were yet to be done, but it was clear that the police was suspecting that the security guard (whose name Zero had already forgotten) had started it. 

The arena had burned almost completely. Only the court and locker rooms seemed to survive with only minor damage. But it was still going to take at least a week until the team was able to practice there again. Everything else had burned to dust. Their next game was scheduled being held at Phoenix the same day. Jelena had contacted the NBA and managed to get an approval to move the game by one day. As what would happen to their home games, no one knew. For the time being they were given a generous permission to continue their trainings in Phoenix. 

Zero didn’t like the idea. They had to leave the same day and who knows how long they were supposed to spend their time there. He had hoped to talk with Jude properly after a day or two, but now he was forced to leave at Phoenix. In other hand it probably gave Jude enough time to think things through and Zero was going to give that to him. 

Jelena pronounced the meeting to an end and everyone started to rise, including Jude.

“Jude.” Zero tried to get his attention.

Jude glanced at him for a second before continuing to collect his papers. “I need to talk with Jelena.” He said simply and walked away. Zero bit his lower lip and resisted the urge to slam the table. He noticed other team members staring at him. They were clearly thinking about the gossip between him and Jelena. 

Even though Jelena clearly tried to avoid him, Jude managed to corner her to a silent hallway. 

“I would appreciate it if you’d keep the discussion only at the fire.” Jude said, keeping his voice calm. He meant the press conference by his statement. He really didn’t want the questions turn to their private lives.

“Of course.” Jelena said, a little surprised that Jude wasn’t accusing her about the kiss. “I don’t want to talk about it either.” 

Jude smiled tightly at her. “I appreciate it.” He turned around to walk out when Jelena called after him.

“I need to see you after the press conference.”

Jude nodded at her before leaving. He had a lot of work to do. He was sure no one wanted to join the Devils now that their home arena had burned down. He had to at least try and smooth things down with agents, but judging by the number of calls he had received, it didn’t look good.


	5. Ashes to ashes

Zero left for Phoenix the following night, like all the other team members. He didn’t even remember a night he and Jude had slept in different beds, if it wasn’t necessary because of an away game and now he was going to be practicing there for who knows how long. Zero had packed all the stuff he needed at Jude’s place, hoping to see his boyfriend before leaving, but no such luck. Jude had stayed at work and didn’t answer any of his calls or texts. Zero knew he had agreed on giving him some space, but he had hoped at least to say goodbye, because who knows when they would be able to see each other again.

Zero sat on the private jet with his stomach upside down. Everyone else were busy talking about the fire and questioned how they would be able to practice at Phoenix alongside their own team. Zero couldn’t find himself to care. He just stared outside at the dimming lights of L.A. and wondered how he could’ve stopped Jelena from kissing him. Maybe he had been so blind, that he had missed all the hints she had given that indicated she was still interested about him. Or maybe he had accidentally flirted with her, which he had doubted at first, but now he couldn’t think of anything else. Jude had said that he had doubted his commitment for a long time and it kept Zero wondering if he had given some cause for it. There had to be some cause, he just needed to find it and fix it. Somehow.

The days turned to week before, finally, they got an information from Jelena: they were given a permission to practice at the arena again. Of course they couldn’t keep their games there yet. The restaurants, bars and offices had been completely destroyed, but at least they would be home for a while. 

Zero had tried to reach Jude million times during his visit on Phoenix. He only got some replies to his texts and all of them said that he was either busy or he didn’t want to talk to him right now. Zero had started to lose all his ideas with him. He had tried everything: apologizing, pleading and confessing his love, but none of them brought any result. Even when they hadn’t been together, back in the days, Jude had still been open with him and told him how he had felt after every stunt Zero had made. Now Jude had just cut him off, like a limb he didn’t need anymore. Zero had even gone so far as to call Lionel and ask what he should do, but the call had left him even more puzzled. Lionel had said that she hadn’t been able to talk with Jude either and every time she tried to visit him at home or at work, he didn’t want to see her. Zero thought that Jude not talking with him, was the worst thing he could feel, but he had been wrong: Jude not talking to him **or** to Lionel made him feel even worse. He had thought, that at least, Jude had Lionel to depend on, but now it seemed he had cut ties with her too and he had no idea why. Zero had thought he knew Jude, but now he wondered if he had been wrong. Maybe he had only thought he knew everything about him and Jude had felt like he couldn’t open up to him anymore. It made Zero feel sick and it showed on his performances at the court as well. 

Little did he know, that the biggest bomb was still waiting for him.

 

The following morning started with a team breakfast. Zero was in much better mood than last night; he got to see Jude in there. He spent a little too much time than necessary, trying to figure out what to wear. He settled on white shirt and black trousers, which he knew Jude liked. He was still in a good mood when he stepped inside the conference hall where almost everyone were already gathered. Zero scanned the room and felt his heart jump a little, when his eyes found Jude at the other side of the room. He was busy talking with Jelena about something and didn’t even notice Zero coming in. He didn’t mind though, Jude would see him in time. 

Zero made his way to the seat marked for him. Pete had explained the schedule vaguely: first breakfast after which Jelena would have some information to them and then practice at the arena. 

“As we all know: many of our sponsors has withdrew from the…” Jelena started speaking, but Zero stopped paying attention soon. His eyes were fixated on Jude. His good mood decreased rapidly when he observed Jude’s behavior. He looked normal, handsome like always, but it was his maneuvers that caught Zero’s attention. Whenever he thought no one was looking, he rubbed his eyes and after that focused on Jelena’s speech, but soon started staring at the distance with glazed eyes. Jude also drank abnormally lot of water, like he couldn’t stay awake without doing something. All this, made Zero nervous. He had hoped that Jude would’ve calmed down enough so that they could talk and make up, but it seemed that Jude was still puzzled and Zero knew it was his fault. 

“…so I hope all of us can pull together during these hard times. I have faith that you all can avoid any unnecessary scandals and keep the sponsors you already have.” Jelena looked at Zero when she said that. He had already lost two of his major sponsors after the kiss between them, but that was totally her fault. “We’ll keep another meeting next week when we inform more about our financial alternatives. Lastly, I have a very unpleasant announcement to make: Jude Kinkade, the vice president of the Devils…” Jelena turned towards Jude. “…is quitting his job.”

Zero felt blood freeze in his veins. He looked at Jude, who finally met his gaze, looking almost guilty. Zero wasn’t the only one surprised. Many others started whispering in the room and Zero felt some of his team members staring at him, obviously trying to figure out if he had known about this. 

Jelena raised her voice so she could be heard above the chatter that had started: “I already have few possible candidates to fill Jude’s shoes and he’s leaving only when the right person has been found to replace him. But I’d like to thank Jude for his hard work. Without you the team would’ve died down during the last week and you also managed to get us a new team member all the way from New York.”

The chatter started again, this time louder. Everybody trying to guess who the new player was, but Zero found himself uninterested. He still stared at Jude, who now tried to avoid his gaze the best way he could. 

“The new member is Jake Dunhill, still early on his career, but as eager to win the next tournament as you are. So I hope you’ll accept him as part of the team.” Jelena smiled when she saw Pete staring at her. She knew the coach had wanted to tell the news to his team first, but she had been faster. “The arena’s reconstructions started five days ago, thanks to our sponsors. But we still haven’t got a word from the insurance company or from the NBA for that matter. But I’m positive, they’ll let us stay in the tournament since the arena’s building has already been started. I’ll make sure to inform all of you when we hear something from the follow-ups. Have a good day, everyone.” Jelena ended the, oh so perky, breakfast meeting with pretended comradely voice. 

Zero had hoped to talk with Jude before they had to leave for practice, but today, everybody seemed to get in his way. Otis tried to ask him if he had knew anything about Jude’s intensions of quitting, but Zero didn’t condescend on answering him. After Otis, Joel came to inquire about his opinion on the new guy since he was the captain of the team now. Zero only shook his head: later. Just when he had reached the spot Jude had occupied earlier, he noticed him exit the hall with Jelena.

 

The next bombshell was dropped a day later.

The offices from the arena had been moved to the nearest business premise. After a long rehearsal game, Zero made his way towards it. He had visited Jude’s apartment last night, but he hadn't opened the door. He had also called Lionel and asked if she knew about Jude’s intentions on quitting and she had been as shocked as he was. 

In Phoenix, Zero had been left alone by the press, but back in L.A., they all seemed to be chasing him wherever he went. He imagined how much they were harassing on Jude and Jelena as well. Zero tried to be impassive about their approaches, but he had already lost his temper to them too many times for his liking. First time had happened just before he had left to Phoenix and one of them had asked if he had cheated on Jude more than once. He had told the guy to fuck off. The second time he lost it was after the team breakfast when a woman had asked did he only use Jude to get himself better position on the team. He had asked her to mind her own business, but with a bit more colorful language, which led them to write about his anger controlling problem.

Zero had to ask directions from the commissionaire downstairs after walking through the security precautions. He climbed to the third floor and headed to the corridor on his right. He had already forgotten which door the man had said was Jude’s, so he stopped at each of them to read the nameplates. After, what felt like dozens of doors, he finally found the one which said: Jude Kinkade. Zero felt something warm swell in his chest but at the same time he felt a lump rise to his throat. He swallowed and knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again, this time more forcefully, but still no answer.

“Jude, I know you’re in there!” He shouted, but Jude still didn’t come to open the door. 

Zero felt like kicking it, but then a door next to Jude’s opened and a woman looked him up and down, clearly wondering if she should call the security.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be leaving.” Zero said irritably and turned to leave. He heard the door shut behind him. Just when he was about to walk away, he saw Jude rounding the corner and walking towards him, reading a paper at the same time.

“Jude…” Zero breathed out in relief of seeing him. Not just because he was able to reach him, but because Jude looked like he was okay. He had probably gotten a bit more sleep last night.

Jude’s eyes shot up at him when he heard his name being called. Zero was sure he saw something move behind his eyes, but it was gone before he was able to recognize it.

“Zero.” Jude said with a tight voice. “What are you doing here?” He walked pass him to his door and opened it up with a key. He didn’t invite Zero in, but he followed Jude anyway.

“You’re actually thinking what I’m doing here?” Zero asked and shut the door behind him, not wanting the doubtful lady to call the security. Jude didn’t answer to his question, just looked up at him with ‘that’s exactly what I just asked’ look.

“I’m actually quite busy, so if you wouldn’t mind.” Jude pointed towards the door. “We can talk later tonight, okay?”

Zero bit his lower lip and shook his head. “No, I really need to talk with you right now.”

“Zero…” Jude started, but Zero wasn’t going to listen any second longer how busy he was.

“You’re quitting your job?” He asked and hoped to see an amused expression on Jude’s face to indicate Jelena had only been joking, but there was only a sad stare.

“Yes, I quit. I got another offer… from Boston” Zero was amazed how easily Jude said it. Like it didn’t mean anything to him. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Zero couldn’t help but let the emotions be heard on his voice. It was like Jude had just ripped his heart out of his chest and was now squeezing it in his hand.

“I-I was going to, but…” Jude took a deep breathe. “I didn’t know how.”

Zero stared at his… former boyfriend? He didn’t even know if he was former or not anymore. Everything was so messed up right now. “I…” Zero let out a high-pitched laugh. “I can’t believe this. You just… you just can’t leave like that.”

“Zero...” Jude rounded the table to stand in front of him. Zero could see some of his defenses coming down. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m moving to Boston after Jelena has found someone to replace me.”

“Do you hate me so much?” Zero’s question took Jude by surprise. 

“No, I don’t hate you.” Jude swore and looked at Zero almost shocked.

“Then why Boston? Why would you move so far away? To the other side of the country?” Zero couldn’t understand any of this.

“They offered me a job. There’s nothing more to it.” Jude said and stared at the floor. He only noticed that Zero was walking over to him when he saw his shoes and when he lifted his gaze up, Zero had already captured his mouth and pushed him against the desk.

At first Jude tried to push Zero away, but when he didn’t succeed he started to be absorbed to the kiss. He squeezed the back of Zero’s shirt and when Zero started to unbutton his blouse, he slid his hands underneath Zero’s shirt.

Zero was so afraid that Jude would stop this, so he kept his mouth pressed against his as much as he was able to. So Jude wouldn’t be able to say stop. Zero had missed Jude so much: his lips, body, touch, smell, everything. It made him almost forget everything that had been going on. Zero traveled his hand down on Jude’s chest and started to unbuckle his belt. That’s when Jude’s hands stopped him and the moment ended almost immediately. They both breathed heavily against each other’s lips, their noses touching. Zero tried to get an eye contact with Jude, who looked down to his mouth. Finally Jude looked up to meet his gaze. Zero leaned forward to capture his lips again but this time Jude didn’t answer to the kiss, he just looked at him with thoughtful eyes.

“What is it?” Zero tried to move his hands so he could take hold of Jude’s, but Jude slipped away from his reach and started to pace around the room. Zero closed his eyes and leaned against the table with his hands. He felt his chest being squeezed again.

“I’m sorry, but this…” Jude took a couple more steps around and ran a hand through his hair before stopping few feet away from Zero. “…isn’t just working anymore.”

Zero couldn’t believe his ears. He was certain he had gotten through to Jude, at least just a little. “No, don’t.” He tried walked closer to cup Jude’s face between his hands and rose to his tiptoe to kiss him, but Jude took a quick step back.

“I really am sorry. I didn’t want to rise your hopes up. You just… took me by surprise.” Jude explained as he tried to correct his suit back on shape.

This time Zero stepped away. “So that’s it? We’re officially over?” He didn’t want to hear the answer, but he needed to know where they stood right now because he had no idea and it was tearing him apart.

There was a moment of silence before Jude replied: “Yeah.” Jude looked at him and Zero saw the sadness in his eyes, but he knew Jude didn’t trust him anymore and he felt like there was nothing he could do to change his mind. 

Zero nodded. “Okay.” He started to correct his outfit as well.

“I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other before I…” Jude said with a shaking voice. Then he walked to Zero, cupped his cheeks and gave him a soft kiss to his lips. “Take care of yourself.” He said with a tiny smile, making Zero’s heart drop.

“You too.” Zero said and stared into Jude’s eyes for a moment longer before walking out of the room without looking back. He made his way along the corridor and turned to a direction he had seen restroom sign. He quickened his pace and stopped to breathe only when he locked the door behind him. All the emotions came floating out and he couldn’t stop himself from crying.

Zero walked outside the building, only to be surrounded by the press. He hoped he didn't look as awful as he felt. He pushed through them and ignored all the questions they asked. He ignored them completely.


	6. Hate you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been intriguing to read your comments. Keep them coming!   
> I'm very busy until Christmas holidays, but I'll update at least once a week.

Few days had passed since their break up. Zero hadn’t said a word to the press, but they had managed to dig that information from somewhere and it pissed him off to read all sort of lunatic stories of their separation. 

Zero had improved his playing from their time at Phoenix. He didn’t think about when or how to talk with Jude, but concentrated on the games instead. He was fine during the day, rehearsing and socializing with the team (which he was getting better at). It was only alone at nights when his mind started to whirl around Jude and everything came crashing down.

But days were fine. And he was fine when the new team member, Jake, was introduced to them. Zero had done some backup search of the guy; he was only 21-years old and a total rookie, but showed some great potential of becoming a good player. Zero was glad to Jude that he had picked someone, who didn’t threaten his position in the team. Not for many years at least, and if he did in the future, Zero would deal with him then. 

The practice didn’t go anywhere however. It seemed that every time Pete opened his mouth to say instructions, one of the builders at the construction site decided to use something that caused the loudest noise possible. So it wasn’t a surprise that Pete swore to go and talk with Jelena about the conditions they had in the middle of the rebuild arena. The tension in the team was tight. Even though Jude and Jelena had managed to dig out money somewhere to get the arena build, they all knew that the future of the team rest with the insurance company’s decision and on the NBA. Zero wondered if Jude had wanted to abandon a sinking ship. 

When the rehearsal was over, Zero picked up the ball they had left in the middle of the court. He turned towards the new kid, who had stayed behind to talk with Pete.

"Hey, wanna play some hoops?" He shouted to him and Jake turned around just in time to catch the ball Zero threw at him. 

The kid looked baffled as he looked between the ball and Zero, before a self-righteous smile appeared on his face. "Sure." He said then and bounced the ball a couple of times before throwing it easily through the basket. "Prepare to lose, Zero."

Zero grinned at him, the boy wasn't a bad choice to this team, he gave Jude that, but he was way too confident for his own good. It was time to show the kid where he stood. Zero won their playful combat pretty easily and got the chance to decrease the kid's ego a little bit. Jake was clearly competitive and almost sulked when he missed his last toss under Zero's hard stare. 

Jake shook his head and turned to Zero. "Looks like you won. I think the new surroundings takes some time to get used to." He said and threw the ball again, this time succeeding. "I've been reading quite a lot of rumors about you."

"Oh, yeah?" Zero retrieved the ball this time, not really caring where this conversation was heading.

"So you're gay or...?" Jake inquired, faking to sound disinterested. 

"What is it to you?" Zero ditched the ball and turned to face him. 

"Just curious." Jake shrugged. "Are you dating the owner of the team these days? That woman is hot." Jake grinned at him.

Zero laughed dryly and went to pick up the ball again. "I'm not dating her and I'll never will." He answered then and dunk the ball.

"Really?" Jake nodded thoughtfully. "So you are gay then?" He muttered so Zero almost missed what he said.

"It means that I'm not dating anyone at the moment, even though it's none of your business." Zero glared at the kid, stepping a little closer to him. Something on his tone made him feel like Jake had something against him. 

Jake stepped back and lifted his hands in surrender. "Of course not. Just asking." He then smiled that cocky smile of his and turned to leave. "See you tomorrow."

Zero shook his head. That kid was a little too cocky for his liking. Now he wasn't so sure that Jake had been the best choice for the team, but he guessed Jude had done the best he could to get at least someone to join the team during a situation they were in. 

Zero started to gather his stuff when his phone started to ring. The caller was someone he knew, since the number had been saved to his phone, but he couldn't remember who the guy was. He answered little wearily, not wanting to get into a long conversation. The caller was the contractor of their house. He called just to tell him, that the constructions of had been put hold by Jude. The information shouldn't have surprised him, but it still did.

 

After a long, hard training, Zero ran a bath for himself when he came to his house. Bath helped him relax and clear his thoughts. He felt extremely exhausted and really needed that bath. Zero was just about to take his shirt off, when the doorbell rang. He stopped to his tracks and wondered who it could be. He checked his phone in case someone had tried to reach him again, but there were no missed calls. Hesitantly and a little angry for that someone, who dared to interrupt his moment of peace, he went to open the door. He was surprised to see Lionel standing on the other side, staring at him solemnly.

“Lionel.” Zero stepped aside to let her in.

“Zero.” She responded with same amount of enthusiasm as he did. Lionel walked straight to his living room and sat down without waiting a permission.

“Please, do make yourself at home.” He said sarcastically and sat opposite of her.

Lionel looked around in the decorated room. She had never visited Zero’s house and she was curious to see if there was anything that displayed something of his past. To her surprise the room was filled only with large furniture and some decorative pieces. Zero remembered that Jude had recommended an underrated, but extremely good, interior designer to him when he had moved to L.A.

“So what brings you here?” Zero asked, trying to get his mind somewhere else.

Lionel turned her attention to him and Zero stirred uncomfortably under her hard gaze. “I just heard that Jude’s quitting his job.” She said, suppressing her anger. Zero only looked down at the floor. “So it is true? When did you find out?”

Zero rubbed the back of his neck. “Few days ago.” He answered honestly, brazing himself for Lionel’s wrath.

“Great, so I’m the last one to learn about this.” Instead of yelling, Lionel spoke with almost sad voice and leaned against the armchair. “What the fuck is wrong with him? That job was everything to him and now he’s just going to leave it.”

Zero wasn’t sure what to answer to that. “He got a better offer.” He said then, not really believing that it had been Jude’s only motive.

“From where?” Lionel narrowed her eyes, not believing that either. 

Zero really didn’t want to be the one telling this to Lionel, but he guessed he had to. “From Boston.” He finally answered and felt his stomach turn at the same time.

“Boston?” Lionel almost shouted and stared at him, unbelieving. They was a silent for a moment while she processed the thought. “But that can’t be the only reason he’s leaving. I mean Kinkade’s **are** the Devils.” Lionel saw that Zero was holding back on her and she was going to dig up the truth, no matter how long it would take.

“I umm…” Zero tried to think a way to explain the situation to Lionel. “I think he’s leaving because of me.” He then said. That didn’t take long, Lionel thought and waited patiently for Zero to continue. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to see me every day. We… broke up.” Zero hadn’t said that aloud before and once he did, it felt awfully definite.

“You did?” Even though Zero was sure Lionel had read about it from the magazines, she still seemed shocked. “I thought you would pull it through somehow. I mean… it was just a kiss… wasn’t it?”

This time Zero felt anger rise in his guts. Lionel had no right to doubt his commitment to Jude and for a second he considered not answering to her, but decided against it. “It was just a kiss. I would never cheat on Jude. But I don’t know… I thought we could talk things through, but it didn’t happen. After he saw that picture… he just couldn’t trust me anymore. I didn’t know how to reassure him otherwise.” The past tense didn’t remain unnoticed by Lionel. 

“There has to be something more.” Lionel said half to herself. “He started to act so strangely that day. I mean I’d understand that he’s upset with you, but **I** , I haven’t done anything! I did heard that someone had told the press that I knew about your and Jelena’s affair, but that’s just a rumor. What else happened that night?”

“You mean the night of the fire?” Zero frowned at her, not quite sure why she would bring that up. “Jude was acting normally before we got home. His behavior changed only when he saw the picture of me and Jelena.”

“Did he?” Lionel leaned closer to Zero, as if someone could overhear them in his house. “Because I noticed that he apologized abnormally often when he came to the arena that night.” 

Zero had to think back to the moment they had seen Jude first time after the fire, but he couldn’t even remember what Jude had said. He had been so relieved to see him alive and well. 

“Like it had been his fault that we had been worried about him.” The way Lionel said that made something move in Zero.

“You don’t mean HE started the fire?” Zero couldn’t believe she could even suggest that.

“No, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he had, after everything that has been going on.” Lionel said, only half serious. “But I’ll swear to god, if Jude’s not going to speak with me tomorrow, I’m going to slash his tiers just to get him to stop and talk for a moment. He’s master at avoiding people when he wants to. I wasn’t even allowed into his office since I don’t have anything to do with the Devils anymore.”

Zero shook his head, not believing any of Lionel’s words, but the conversation with her made him thought about things differently. Maybe there was something more about this than just the kiss between him and Jelena.

 

Jude was walking through the rebuild entrance hall of the arena. It was his first time visiting there since the fire and even though many things were the same, so many had changed. The architectures of the new arena had agreed on designing it mostly as voluntary work, just like many others who were involved with the building. Both Jude and Jelena had done 24/7 work on getting their sponsors for keeping their cash flow coming and getting the new arena build as fast as possible with as little money as possible.

Jude had just met with the construction manager, who had been measuring the sound levels in the court during the Devils' workouts. The news weren’t good: the levels rose too high for it to be safe, which threatened not just the players’ health but the upcoming home game as well since the works were halted around the court.

The NBA had, to their relief, given them green light for attending the tournament in the future, which meant everything to the Devils. The bad news were that they needed to get the court side ready for the home game next week at the same time as the Devils rehearsed. Jude had been contacting various companies for voluntary work, which would give them enormous publicity and a change to get themselves known with the big mass. He had contacted small companies, which he knew had huge craving for bigger domains, on purpose. Many had taken the opportunity after a little pitch. For example a small restaurant at the side of the center, where he and Gideon had dined many times. The food was notably good and Jude had talked with the owner a few times, noticing immediately how much the woman wanted to grow her business. And now Jude had offered her a change for that.

So it was no surprise, that Jude was feeling nervous when he walked towards the new exit of the arena. He already went through in his mind some of his contacts so they could fix something up, that he almost missed a familiar person walking pass him.

“Jude!”

Jude halted when he heard the man, who he hadn’t even looked at, call after him. He turned around and felt his mouth go dry when he saw Lucas beaming at him a few steps away. 

“Lucas… hi.” Jude said, starting a feel even more nervous. This certainly wasn’t what he needed right now. 

“Long time no seen.” Lucas looked Jude up and down, clearly picturing what he looked like under his suit which made Jude stir nervously. “You look as handsome as ever.” He added with a little wink.

“Look, I’ve been wanting to apologize the way Zero spoke to you back then. I know you didn’t deserve that…” Jude quickly changed the subject. He really felt bad about how he had just tossed Lucas aside for Gideon, but he had been head over heels in love, that he hadn’t even said sorry.

“It’s history, Jude. Don’t worry about it.” Jude almost sighed in relief when Lucas said that. “I was disappointed though and it took me a while to… you know, get over you.” Lucas continued then with more disappointed tone and Jude felt guilt bang in his chest. “I never would’ve thought that Zero was gay, but now I understand why you were so upset when he interrupted our dates.” 

“Yeah…” Jude almost apologized about not telling that his ex had been Zero, but then he remembered that it hadn’t been his secret to tell. 

“As I said: ancient history.” Lucas said, smiling freely again. “How is Zero by the way?”

Jude froze for a moment, not sure what to say. “Good… good I guess.” He finally managed to blurt out, but he wasn’t surprised that Lucas picked up on that.

“So you two broke up, huh?” Lucas took a step closer to Jude. He had a certain look in his eyes, that Jude had seen a few times before, but he really didn’t need that right now.

“Yeah, we did.” He realized he hadn’t said that aloud to anyone before. It felt foreign to tell it to Lucas of all people.

“Do you happen to know where Zero is, right now?” Lucas asked then, which surprised him. Why would he want to know that?

Jude looked at his watch. “The Devils' rehearsal has ended half an hour ago, so I’d guess he’s still in the locker rooms.” He knew Gideon often stayed later than others to think through his performance in the court.

Lucas’s smile got even wider with the answer. “Good. I have… some things I’d like to discuss with him.” With that he turned around and headed towards the locker rooms. “I’ll see you around, Jude!” Lucas said and waved his hand absentmindedly at him. 

Jude stayed there, staring after Lucas. He had an uncomfortable feeling in his guts, which he shouldn’t have, didn’t deserve to have. He and Gideon had broken up, so he shouldn’t care what Zero decided to do with his life. So he forced the feeling to go away, he had more important things to worry about.

 

Zero sat in his locker. His eyes were closed and he was breathing steadily. He had made two unnecessary mistakes, but others had done as bad as he. The horrible noise of hammering and welding had been unbearable. He really hoped that Jude and Jelena would be able to organize their practice schedule with the construction engineer. 

Zero had just got up and started to put his shirt on, when he heard the locker room’s door open. At first he didn’t think much of it. It was probably just one of the team members who forgot something, but when the footsteps just stopped to the middle of the room, he turned around to see who the intruder was.

The disgust he felt, when he saw Lucas standing there, smiling his self-righteous smile, was nothing compared to the feeling he had a little after.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Zero looked around the room, half expecting to see one of Lucas’s clients, like the new kid, hiding somewhere. He finally finished putting his own shirt on and didn’t notice the way Lucas’s eyes traveled over his body.

“Actually, Jude said I could find you here.” Lucas looked around as well, clearly amused. He didn’t miss the tightening of Zero’s lips when he mentioned Jude. “Look, Zero, we separated in bad terms. I really wanted to apologize.”

“For what?” Zero narrowed his eye at him. 

“If I had known you were dating Jude, I would’ve never get involved with him.” Lucas took a couple steps closer to him. 

“Yeah, right.” Zero let out a humorless laugh and turned his back on Lucas, starting to bag his stuff. 

“I mean it, Zero. Jude was hot and all, but you…” Lucas took another step closer. “…you are totally in other league.”

Zero didn’t hear him come closer, but he heard how short of breath he was. That wasn’t the reason he turned around, but the way he compared Jude to him. How did this piece of shit even dare to categorize Jude? So he turned around, ready to say his piece and almost startled when Lucas was standing just a few inches away from him. He barely had time to react when Lucas launched himself forward and tried to capture his lips. Zero was able to push him away just before their lips would’ve touched.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Zero demanded and stared at Lucas with wide eyes.

Lucas let out a carefree laugh. “Oh, come on, Zero. I can give you what you want.” He said and took a step back up again. “The rumors about your breakup with Jude started weeks ago and I’m pretty sure that he haven’t… satisfied your needs when he learned about your little fling with Jelena. I wouldn’t mind if you’d fuck the whole city. I mean Jude’s a hot piece, but way too needy for you.”

Something in Zero’s mind just snapped. He rushed forward, caught Lucas’s collar to both of his hands and slammed him backwards to Otis’s locker. _Sorry, Otis_ , he thought when a huge crack echoed in the room. At first Lucas’s looked shocked about the sudden turn of events, but then the cocky smile appeared on his face.

“I didn’t know you were so eager…” 

“Shut the fuck up!” Zero yelled at him, but Lucas’s smile faded only slightly. Zero leaned his whole weight against Lucas, pinning him against the locker, making it hard for him to breathe. Their faces were so close together that their lips were almost touching. Lucas’s lips parted when he felt Zero’s exhalation against his skin as Zero whispered: “I bet that Jude’s thousand better fuck than you are and you don’t even come close to him with anything else either.” Zero got a great deal of satisfaction to see Lucas’s face fall and he tightened his hold around his collar a little more. “If you speak about Jude in front of me **ever** again, I won’t be responsible of my actions.” 

Finally Zero took a step back and let Lucas go. The man had to take hold of the locker to keep himself upright.

“I don’t want to see you again. Got that?” Zero asked as he backed away towards his own locker. 

Lucas tried to smoothen his collar and nodded tightly at him. 

“Good.” Zero took his bag and walked pass Lucas. “Have a nice rest of your life.” He said sarcastically before opening the door.

Zero stopped almost immediately when he stepped outside. A familiar scent lingered in the hallway. He inhaled deeply and tried to identify the source. Then he shook his head, he must’ve just imagined it. Zero corrected the bag on his shoulder and walked towards the exit. If he had looked to his left, after he passed a corridor which lead to the loading docks, he would’ve seen Jude standing close to the wall, trying to look as invincible as possible. Luckily his suit was dark and he blended in to the wall quite well, so Zero didn’t notice him.

Jude was about to leave through the loading docks, when he heard the locker room’s door open again. 

“Hi, honey, I was just wondering if you were home?” Jude heard Lucas’s voice coming from the doorway. “Great. I’ll be there in half an hour. No, nothing happened. I was just working out a minute ago.”

Jude felt discussed. If he had known what an asshole Lucas was, he would’ve never even looked at him twice. Jude walked briskly along the corridor so Lucas wasn’t going to see him. Jude couldn’t help but smile when he recalled Zero’s words to Lucas. Even though he hadn’t heard much, he had heard enough. Still, at the same time, his heart clenched uncomfortably.


	7. My everything

Jude sat at his desk, trying to work, but he found himself unable to focus. He had started packing yesterday and it all started to feel very real. A knock on the door made him return to the moment.

“Can I bother you a minute?” Jelena asked from the doorway and Jude nodded at her. It was odd to see her in his office so late at night and even more weird to see her knocking and not just barging in, like she usually did.

Jelena walked in and carefully sat opposite of him. Jude saw immediately that she was nervous, although she clearly tried to hide it. But it was her eyes that betrayed her, looking around in discomfort.

“I have a confession to make.” Jelena started and finally looked at him straight in the eyes. 

Jude resisted the urge to sight. He really didn’t need any shit Jelena wanted to thrust on him. “Go ahead.” He said anyway. Whatever it was, he was sure Jelena was going to tell it to him, even if he wanted it or not. 

“I put knockout drops to Zero’s drink that day.” Jelena said and waited patiently for Jude’s reaction. She had never seen him angry, but what she had heard, he was able to be scary when he wanted to be. Not that she was afraid, just cautious.

To her surprise, Jude just didn’t even look at her, but instead stared at his computer absent-mindedly, slowly nodding.

“You don’t seem surprised.” She said and narrowed her eyes. She tried to figure out why he reacted this way.

“Because I’m not.” Jude finally said and straightened his back to look at her. “I’ve known there was something to it from the beginning.” He continued and looked her up and down, as if he was able to read her like an open book.

“Then why did you…?” She tried to ask, but Jude cut her off.

“Why now? It’s been weeks since it happened. Why tell me now?” Jude’s stare was tired, almost like he didn’t even care to hear her answer.

“I was ashamed…” Jelena hadn’t prepared to tell her motives to Jude. The words had slipped out of her mouth before she had been able to stop them. She had to think for a moment before continuing. “…ashamed because I needed someone.” Jelena had never really trusted anyone in her life. She wasn’t sure if she trusted Jude either, but she felt like he would understand. “When I saw you and Zero together… I thought I could have that too. So I made getting him my next mission. I guess…” Jelena felt uncomfortable under Jude’s gaze, but she still went on. “…I wanted to feel that I wasn’t alone.”

Jude was silent for a moment, waiting for her to continue, but when she didn’t, he nodded. “It must be though.” 

“What?” Jelena’s voice returned to normal: cold and steady.

“Raising a kid, on your own.” Jude continued and gave her a little smile. “I know I wouldn’t be able to do that. But you’re a strong woman and even if you have to raise him all alone, I’m certain you can do it.”

For a moment Jelena just stared at him. Jude began to think that he had somehow insulted her, but then a smile appeared on her face. A genuine smile, which Jude had never seen on her and it made her look very pretty.

“Thank you, Jude.” Jelena said, but then the smile disappeared. “I made a mistake coming between you and Zero. But why did you break up with him, if it wasn’t because of me?”

Jude wanted to ask her to leave, but since she had opened up to him, he felt like he owned at least some kind of explanation. “It’s complicated. But I feel like I have to go on with my life somewhere else. Away from the Devils and away from Oscar. And Zero is the Devils. He’s right where he has always wanted to be and even though things are a bit hectic right now, I’m sure the team will be fine.”

They looked at each other across the table, some kind of understanding had formed between them, or at least that was the only word Jude was able to describe it. 

“Fine. I lost in my own game.” Jelena said. Her common dry smile returning. “I wish you all the best, Jude. And if you ever want to come back, there’s always a place for you.” Jelena offered her hand across the table and Jude shook it.

“You too. Goodbye.” Jude watched as Jelena walked away. He had never thought working for Jelena would be so pleasant. He was going to miss this job.

 

Zero had to make things right again and since Jude wasn’t going to believe him, there was only one person he was able to turn to. 

Zero felt his stomach twist in disgust as he knocked on that door, but no matter how much he hated the idea, he was willing to try it for Jude. It had been over a year since he had last been here and he wished that this was the last time as well. Jelena opened the door and the surprise was evident on her face. 

“Zero? What…?” 

Zero took a deep breath so he could talk with as little dislike in his voice as he was able to. “I need to talk to you.”

Jelena looked him up and down before stepping aside to let him in. Zero took only few steps and stopped to stand in the middle of the room. It was only then, when he noticed Raquel’s son (whose name he couldn’t remember), sitting on the sofa and looking at him shyly.

“Miguel, go to your room.” Jelena ordered softly and the boy obeyed her without a word.

Zero watched him go upstairs. Once Jelena was sure he couldn’t hear them, she walked in front of Zero with her hands crossed. “What are you doing here?”

Zero focused on his purpose to get Jude back, all the differences he had with Jelena could wait. “I want you to tell Jude exactly what happened during that night.” He wanted to sound bossy, but the thought that Jelena could easily turn him down, made his voice less demanding and almost pleading instead. 

Zero had expected a cold stare and a mock laugh, but Jelena just looked away and seemed to ponder on something. Zero narrowed his eyes. Something was up.

“I… I already told Jude the truth.” Jelena said after a short silence. “He already knew it.”

Zero licked his lips slowly, trying to make some sense of this. His first thought was that she was lying to him. “How could he know that? And first of all why would you tell him the truth? You never do anything if it doesn’t benefit you.” 

Jelena rolled her eyes, annoyed by Zero’s approach. “He said he’d known it right from the start.” She told the honest truth and saw it was slowly sinking to Zero's understanding as well. “As for why I told him? ...Because I wanted him to stay, so I told him everything.” Jelena sighed in annoyance. “But he had already made up his mind and now I have to select a new vice president to start on Monday, which sucks because Jude was really good.”

Zero’s whole face fell when she said the last words. He almost looked scared.

“When…” Zero tried fiercely to control his emotions which swirled inside him. “When exactly is he leaving?”

“The job on Boston wanted him to start a week earlier.” Jelena said. “He’s leaving tomorrow.”

Zero felt his heart seize in his chest. He looked away from Jelena for a moment as he tried to figure a way out of this nightmare he was living. “You don’t have to get anyone to replace him.” He said then with silent voice. 

Jelena lifted her eyebrows at him. “What are you talking about?”

Zero met her gaze and swallowed as his throat felt dry. He hadn’t prepared for this resolution, but it was the only thing he could do. “I’m leaving the team. Jude won’t have to leave if I’m not part of the Devils.”

 

Jude stood in the middle of his apartment. There were cardboard boxes laying all around. Seeing the house, where he had spent the last three years of his life, so empty, made him feel hollow. He was just about to head to the shower, when he heard a key turn in the lock and someone opened the front door. 

Zero had considered ringing the doorbell, but since Jude never came to open these days, he had to let himself in. It most likely pissed Jude off, but tonight Zero couldn’t care less. He came here for a reason and one reason only.

“You still have the key?” Jude’s calm voice surprised Zero and made him feel even more on edge. He sounded like he didn’t even care anymore.

“You never asked it back.” Zero answered and put the keys to his pocket. He wasn’t going to give it back now, either. He looked around the apartment and felt a bang in his guts, when he saw all the boxes, making Jude’s intentions of leaving so much more realistic. 

Jude followed Zero’s gaze and sighed. “What are you doing here?”

Zero forced himself to look at Jude, even though his insides were screaming in desperation. “I…”

“If you came here to stop me…” Jude interrupted him, but Zero wasn’t going to listen to him. Not this time.

“I want an explanation.” He said and tried to lock his eyes on Jude’s, but the man diverted his gaze.

“I’ve told you that a million times.” Jude’s voice rose a little. “I really can’t argue with you right now.”

“Yes, but you have to.” Zero said, almost demanding and took a step towards him. “Don’t you think I haven’t seen that somethings been bothering you. I **need** an explanation, Jude.”

As Zero took a step forward, Jude took a step back, as if Zero could’ve burned him if he let him too close. “I told you, I can’t trust you.” Jude was tired and it showed on his voice, he didn’t have the energy to fight back anymore.

“Maybe that’s true. Maybe you don’t trust me, but there’s something more.” Zero tried to get Jude’s attention, but he just averted his gaze. “Talk to me!” Jude had never heard Zero yell. Yes, he had raised his voice many times, but never shout at anyone. So it made Jude finally meet Zero’s eyes and then he couldn’t look away anymore.

“Zero, please, don’t’” Jude shook his head.

Zero saw how afraid Jude was and it made him even more determined to keep on pushing him. He wasn’t going to let Jude leave without first telling him the truth about what was going on. “Jelena said that she told you the truth.”

“So what?” Jude asked, the fear replaced by confident. “It doesn’t change a thing if you were drunk or not!”

“She was the one who kissed me!” Zero couldn’t even remember how many times he had said those words during the last two weeks; to Jude, to the reporters, everyone. “Jude, I know that’s not all.”

“So I’m supposed to just believe that?” Jude shook his head and laughed dryly. He backed away to his work desk, trying to find something to do to distract himself.

“Jude, I know you.” Zero took another step closer, trying to get his attention, but Jude was busy collecting the items left to the nearest box. “What have you done?” Zero felt like someone just stabbed his heart when Jude’s eyes shot up at him. It confirmed his thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Jude tried to smile, but it turned out to a nervous grin.

“What have you done for me?” Zero asked again.

Jude looked away to his desk again. “I don’t…”

“You said you would do anything for me.” Zero took a step forward. “There’s nothing else I can imagine that would cause you to shut yourself from me like this. You’ve done or doing something for me and I want you to stop.”

Jude opened his mouth to say something but not even a word came out.

“Jude.” Zero said, more calmly this time, but Jude kept his gaze locket at the desk. “Jude, just look at me.”

Jude closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Zero.

“I need to know, Jude. I need to know why you’re doing this.” Zero took a small and careful step forward. Something flickered behind Jude’s eyes and Zero was sure he was going to open up to him, but then his stare turned hard again.

“You got it all wrong.” Jude said and walked pass him towards the bedroom.

Zero resisted the urge to sigh. He turned after Jude and shouted: “I’m leaving the team!”

Jude turned around in the doorway, clearly not believing him. “Don’t bullshit me. Shouldn’t you be leaving already? You have a game tomorrow in Chicago.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Zero felt his walls starting to crack and he hated it, but he would be able to bare it for Jude. “If you’re leaving because of me, then I’m the one who should leave, not you.”

“Yeah, right. I'm already leaving so you don't have to.” Jude’s voice became impassive again and he turned his back to Zero once again.

“Jude, please…” Zero walked after him. “I love you! Everything else feels nothing. There’s nothing for me here without you!” 

Jude turned to look at him, with a deep frown on his face. Zero looked like a lost puppy, standing there a few feet away from him and for the first time Jude saw how utterly frightened he was. 

“But you have everything here.” Jude said. Zero noticed how his voice turned back to normal. “You’ve achieved everything you came here to achieve. You’re the captain of the Devils. You’re **the** star.”

“Yeah, I’m on the peak of my career.” Zero nodded in agreement. Then he locked his eyes on Jude’s and smiled sadly. “But I’ve lost the reason I came here for: you. I mean, from the first day we met, I’ve followed you everywhere.” Zero almost laughed at how much Jude had him. “Yes, I thought I came here to win another championship, but then I found more and losing you… it hurts more than anything else.”

Zero didn’t cry. He hadn’t cried even after he had wrecked his old foster home. He had felt like crying, but it hadn’t been worth it. So it took him by surprise when he felt tears burn his eyes. He wanted to look away from Jude, to hide his feeling, but he didn’t and for the first time in weeks, Jude took a step towards him.

“Gideon, I need you to trust me.” Jude said with calm voice. “I’m doing this because I have to. Because it’s for your own good.”

“You see, that’s the problem, Jude.” Zero said and Jude frowned at him. “You’re doing this for me. This something I have no idea what it is. But I don’t want you to.” He took a step closer to Jude and this time he didn’t back away. “Because it’s making you unhappy and I don’t want you to be unhappy.”

This time Jude left his defenses fall down and he let Zero see how utterly drained he was and it made Zero’s guts twist painfully. “I don’t know what else to do.” Jude’s voice was shaking and he didn’t fight back when Zero walked to him and wrapped his arms around him.

“It’s okay. We’ll figure something out together.” Zero whispered against his shoulder and tightened his hold when he felt Jude hug him back. “Tell me what’s wrong.”


	8. Reason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I haven't been able to post this sooner. I've been so tired after work this week that I haven't been able to even think about writing. Next part will be done in a week. Thanks again for your comments!

The night of the fire:

Jude tried to move forward as low as possible. The corridors had been filled with smoke in mere seconds after he had left Jelena’s office. He had no way of knowing where it was coming from, but since the front entrance was too far away, he made his way towards the closest emergency exit. He almost missed the exit sign through the thick smoke even though it was glowing in the dark. Jude fumbled with the lock, his hands shaking. He almost panicked when he felt the smoke fill his lungs and he felt like suffocating and the damn lock refused to open. 

Jude sighed in relief when he finally managed to get it open. He half ran and half stumbled down the stairs to the backdoor of the arena, which was used only by handful of employees. This time the lock was much more easier to open and Jude breathed in the fresh air when he finally managed to get outside and slammed the door shut behind him. The cold night air and the smoke in his lungs made him cough. He took his phone from his pocket to call 911 when he heard sirens in the distance. It seemed that calling was unnecessary. He still opened the phone and was about to dial Gideon’s number to call and let him know that he was okay, when a flash of light almost blinded him. Jude shielded his eyes with his hand and looked towards the car which was parked just a short distance away from him. The car’s, or more accurately, limo’s, backdoor was opened by someone from the inside but the person didn’t come out. 

“Jude! Hop in!” He heard a man’s voice call from the inside. 

For a moment Jude just stood there, staring at the limo. He couldn’t see the license plate, but the voice sounded familiar and the man clearly knew him, so he slowly walked to the open door. He peeked inside the limo, but it was too dark to see who was sitting there. Jude hesitated a second longer before stepping inside. He sat down and his face fell when he saw Oscar sitting opposite of him. Right after that the car took off.

“Shit…” Jude cursed and tried to open the door, but it was locked. “What’s going on?” He then turned towards Oscar who just smiled smugly at him.

“Relax, Jude. I didn’t plan on getting you into this car. You just happened to stumble out there and I thought I’d give you a ride.” Oscar reached out to take a bottle of alcohol and couple of glasses from the side. “Champagne?” 

“No thanks.” Jude said between clenched teeth.

“Suit yourself.” Oscar shrugged and poured himself a glass. “Quite a coincidence for us to meet tonight.” The man took a sip from his champagne. “I was hoping to talk with you and then you emerged in front of my car.”

“Sure. What a coincidence for you to be at the arena when it burns down.” Jude said sarcastically. His voice was hoarse because of the smoke.

Oscar just faked a laugh at him. “You’ve always been good with words. Guess that’s why you’re doing so well as an EVP. But you can believe what you want. I have nothing to do with the fire.”

“Oh, yeah? Then why I can smell gas in here.” Jude looked pointedly at him.

“It’s most likely coming from you.” Oscar looked him up and down. Jude did the same and only then noticed how dirty his suit was: covered in ash. “But there’s something else I wished to talk to you about.”

“There’s nothing to discuss.” Jude felt the car stop, to a traffic lights most likely, and tried to open the door once more, but in vain. 

Oscar’s smile didn’t fade. “You don’t need to talk to me. It’s just enough that you listen what I have to say.”

Jude felt the hairs on his neck stand up. He really didn’t like the direction this conversation was heading to. He just wanted to get out and head home.

“Since this…” Oscar pointed towards the window of the car. Jude looked at the direction and saw the thick smoke rise from the arena. At the same time a car drove past them and Jude was sure it was Zero’s. “…unfortunate accident, it seems things are going to get a little tough for you.”

“What are you getting at?” Jude snapped at him, looking through the rear window but the car had already disappeared from sight. 

“Patience, Jude.” Oscar tried to calm him down. “I just want to give you a proposition which I think you’d be quite interested at.”

Jude sighed, he was so fed up with Oscar’s schemes but most of all: his lack to get to the point.

“It’s most likely that the arena is going to burn to the ground. According to the amount of smoke.” Oscar quickly saved himself when Jude’s expression told him that he had almost slipped on confessing something. “I may not have the building site of the new arena I had planned to build anymore, but I still have something that would help you to build a new one.”

Jude narrowed his eyes at him. “Like what?” He remembered well that Lionel had sold the site for Oscar’s annoyance and the city had already build a new mall there.

“Everything else.” Oscar said proudly. “For example the blueprints of the new arena. Everything planned out to the smallest detail. Designed just for the purpose of playing basketball. Think how much you could save only just because of that?”

Jude couldn’t help his brains starting to calculate the costs that a building of a new arena would take. He felt cold sweat rise to his skin by just a mere thought and Oscar clearly noticed that.

“That’s only one thing. I also have all the materials of the old building site which total value would be around 4.5 million dollars.” Oscar looked patiently at Jude, waiting for him to say something.

Jude swallowed and tried to think of a counter argument. “What would you want for those?” He ended up asking and Oscar’s smile made him want to puke. 

“Just a little share of the Devil’s ownership. And Jelena doing… what she does best: planning on dance performances. Not right away, of course. But I’m sure you’ve worked for better bosses than her.” Oscar waited to see Jude’s expression change to agreement, but it didn’t happen.

Jelena had started off as a rookie. Jude had to tell her everything from the smallest detail, but she had been quick to learn and if he trusted someone to deal with things, it was Jelena. “No.” Jude shook his head. “I’m not buying your offer. Take me home, please.”

“Don’t make hasty decisions.” Oscar’s smile still didn’t fade. “I believe that you’d like to, at least, see the blueprints and decide only after that. I don’t need a big part of the Devils. I’m fine with only a few percents.”

The car halted again and this time the engine was turned off. Oscar looked outside and drank the last of his champagne. “We can discuss more inside.”

Jude looked out as well and saw that they were in front of Oscar’s house. He considered of fleeing the scene the minute he got out the limo, but decided to stay and watch the blueprints. He knew he was too tired to make any final decisions, but he wanted all the information to make the decision later, if there was anything to decide.

Oscar guided Jude to his office. He opened the safe deposit-box and took out a pile of papers. 

“Here are the blueprints.” Oscar gave him a roll of paper. 

Jude rolled it open and glanced through it. At first look it seemed like a perfect plan to build a new arena. Then Oscar offered him some calculations of the costs of the arena and what he already had in store. Jude asked him to hand a calculator and he quickly checked the papers through. Quickly meant hours. He was so tired after he was done, that he almost passed out right there in the middle of Oscar’s study.

“Well?” Oscar asked as he sat at the other side of his desk. 

“Well…” Jude put the papers down and looked at them for a moment longer before answering: “Only half a year ago, I would’ve taken your offer.” He said and locked eyes with Oscar. He saw the man’s jaw tense. “Now, I can see that these are pretty good, but far from perfect. First the blueprints are full of mistakes.” Jude pointed towards the roll on the desk. The mistakes he wouldn’t have known if his boyfriend didn’t play basketball. “Second: the calculations are just wrong. Whoever did those, didn’t consider that contractor would never agree on that schedule, not to mention all the problems there’s going to be at the construction site, which would cause considerably more costs.” If Jude hadn’t worked on the site of his and Gideon’s house, he never would’ve understand any of these papers. But for the last few months he had been studying about all kind of materials and costs of buildings, that he was able to make sense about Oscar’s papers pretty quickly. Sure, building an enormous arena was completely different than a house for two people, but the idea was the same.

“So you won’t accept my offer?” Oscar leaned back in his chair and tried to stare Jude down.

“No.” Jude said simply and got up. It was late and he was sure he had gotten million calls from Gideon and Lionel, asking where he had been. 

Jude made his way towards the door when Oscar called after him: “Jude! Think wisely on this. I’ve had a good time on getting myself an alibi for the, so called, attempted murder of Lionel and Pete. She can’t threaten me with that no more. I also happen to know some details about her and Zero’s past which wouldn’t look good if they became public.”

Jude had stopped to the middle of the room. He refused to turn around and face Oscar, but his words were getting under his skin.

“Not to mention all the connections I know.” Oscar continued before stating with cold voice: “You know what I’m capable of. I know you wouldn’t want anything to happen to your friends.”

Jude had to turn around and look at Oscar. To see if he was serious with his claim, but there was no hesitation in his eyes.

“I’ll make sure you’ll never get your hands on the Devils again.” Jude said, his voice firm and steady. “I don’t care what you’re willing to do. Even if you’re willing to take both Lionel and Zero down, I don’t care. They don’t mean as much to me as you think.” 

Jude was surprised of how convincing he had sounded as he walked outside of Oscar’s house. The man’s stare, full of hatred, was burned to his mind. Jude knew how serious Oscar was, but letting him inside the Devil’s possession again, wouldn’t make things any better. Still, Jude knew he had to do some precautions in case decided to Oscar act on his threats. 

Jude checked his phone, but it had died down. He walked to the nearest phone booth and called a taxi for himself. During the ride home, he went through the conversation with Oscar again. The plan started to form slowly in his mind and it almost killed him. He hadn’t prepared for this. He hadn’t prepared to betray Lionel or crush Gideon’s heart. But he realized he had no choice.

Oscar knew Jude’s weaknesses and wasn’t going to hesitate to use them to get what he wanted. Jude knew that as long as he had anything to do with the Devils, Oscar could find a way to threaten him. At first Jude thought of telling everything to Gideon, but then he realized that he couldn’t do that. Gideon was exactly where he had always wanted to be: the captain of the best team in NBA. Jude couldn’t possibly ask him to leave all that behind, no matter how much he loved Gideon. He wasn’t worried about Jelena. She could take care of herself. She had known that buying the team was a declaration of war against Oscar and was ready to face that. 

But it was already late and Jude was tired. He would make up his mind in near future. The hardest part would have to be breaking up with Gideon. Jude didn’t know how he could do that with as little damage to Zero’s heart as possible. He knew that Zero wouldn’t give up easily and Jude wasn’t strong enough to stay away from him, if he tried to get him back. So Jude knew he had to cut ties with him permanently or as long as Oscar was a threat to the Devils. Jude really wished he could talk about this to Gideon, he really did, but their break up had to look real so that Oscar would believe that hurting Zero wouldn’t hurt Jude. So faking a public break up wasn’t going to work. He hadn’t prepared it to happen so quickly as he stood in their bedroom, looking at the photo of Zero and Jelena which Lionel had sent him. The moment he saw it, he knew it would be the perfect excuse to break up with Gideon. The mere thought had made him feel nauseous and frightened, but before he had even decided what to do, Gideon had emerged behind him and asked what he was doing. Jude had to take a deep breath to calm himself down before he turned around to do what he had to do.

 

Zero had been silent the whole time Jude told him about what had happened after the fire. When the silence dragged a little longer, Jude felt like saying something.

“I’m sorry.” He glanced at Gideon, a little scared of how he would react. Jude was sure he was mad and he had all the reasons to be.

“I wished you would’ve asked my opinion.” Zero finally said and then glanced at him. “But you don’t need to apologize for trying to protect me and Lionel.” He nudged Jude’s shoulder with his own, amused smile on his lips. “I’m just glad you finally told me.”

Jude smiled sadly and nodded. He was relieved to be able to tell someone about all the shit that had been going on. He had known it would be hard, but breaking up with Gideon had been living hell. 

“We’ll figure something out, okay? If nothing else works, I’ll come with you to Boston. I already told Jelena that I’ll leave the team.” Zero offered and smiled when he saw Jude’s shocked reaction.

“Why?” Jude only managed to ask.

Zero looked away and seemed to search for the words to describe his thoughts. “Because being the best basketball player isn’t the only thing that I want anymore.” Then he looked Jude in the eyes. “You’re the only thing that matters to me.”

Zero seemed to hesitate a moment before leaning forward and pressing their lips together. He cupped the back of Jude’s neck lightly, to give him room to back away if he wanted to and for a moment Zero thought Jude would do just that, but in the end Jude responded to the kiss. It was short and calm, but showed what they felt in that moment.

Zero pulled back first, but kept their faces close together. He ran his hand through Jude’s hair and gazed into his eyes. “Something’s still bothering you.” He said then and this time Jude pulled away from him. A fear of seeing Jude shut down again, made Zero want to close the distance between them, but he forced himself to stand put.

At first Jude was going to deny it, but Gideon knew him too well. He sighed and tried to find the right words. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” He then said slowly and looked at Gideon, feeling awkward.

“Fire away.” Zero said, preparing for another long conversation.

“I know you love me and I would never doubt that you’d cheat on me…” Jude paused and waited for his reaction. Zero just shrugged. “…but I’ve been wondering if you’ve… missed being with women since you started dating me.”

If Jude hadn’t been so serious by asking that question, Zero would’ve laughed at it. But watching Jude look at him awkwardly made Zero want to prove himself to him. 

“I’ve always liked being with women.” He said truthfully and Jude nodded slowly, clearly processing his answer. “But then I met this guy…” He continued and Jude’s eyes shot back up at him. “…with who I started an innocent affair with, but it kind of developed to something more.” Zero took a small step towards Jude. “Then I started to think about him day and night, until one day I realized I don’t want to be with anyone else than him.” He took another step and was now standing right in front of Jude.

At first Jude smiled that flattered, yet a little shy, smile of his but then it turned to wide one, exposing all his teeth, which made Zero’s heart jump in delight. “You better be talking about me. For your own sake.” Jude teased. He cupped Zero’s cheeks and leaned down to kiss him. 

 

Jude sat behind the wheel of his car and buckled his seat belt. He waited for Zero to get in before starting it. 

“So where are we going?” Jude asked when Zero stopped searching for his sunglasses, he was sure he had left on Jude’s car. He had told Jude earlier that he knew someone who could probably help them with Oscar.

“To the arena.” Zero answered and Jude just nodded, already quite sure who they were going to meet. He put on reverse and pushed the gas pedal, only to find that the car tilted to the right side and then dropped back down and died down. 

“What the hell just happened?” Jude asked and they both looked at each other, confused. 

Zero took off the sunglasses and looked at his side of the car. “Lionel happened.” He said then.

“What are you talking about?” Jude looked at his side as well, but saw nothing out of ordinary.

“She… threatened to slash your tires so she could slow you down for a moment to talk with you.” Zero explained and looked at Jude, feeling partly responsible, but at the same time amused. “I didn’t think she would go through with it.” He couldn’t help but laugh. 

Jude didn’t think it was at least a bit amusing. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m your friend.” Jude said tautly and got out of the car to check on the damage.

“Hey, how is this my fault?” Zero asked and got out as well. They both stood next to the car and stared at the flat back tire.

“You’re just as bad she is.” Jude continued and sounded extremely pissed off, but when Zero looked at him, Jude smiled. It wasn’t just a lift of the corner of his mouth but a wide grin, which made Zero’s heart swell.

“I’m glad to see you smile.” Zero said, short of breath. To his disappointment, Jude’s smile faded.

“I do smile.” Jude insisted and frowned, not sure why Zero would say that.

“Yeah, but not like this. In a long time.” Zero walked slowly closer to Jude, cupped his cheek and pressed their lips together. Jude smiled against his lips, making Zero smile as well. “So, where do you keep the spare tire?” Zero asked when they departed, sounding almost exited. “I haven’t changed tires in years.”

“Then it’s probably going to take hours before we’re done.” Jude got off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves.


	9. Unite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was supposed to be the last chapter. But as I told you before, I became inspired writing more. I'll try to update new chapter on Wednesday!

Jelena stood in her new office. It was half bigger than the last one and decorated just for her. It felt like a new start and after a long time, she felt like the Devils would be okay. She had just arranged her stuff and sat behind the desk, when Zero walked in without knocking, followed by ashamed looking Jude. Jelena couldn’t say that she wasn’t surprised by seeing Jude. 

“Jude! I thought you had already left.” She said and glared at Zero who sat down without asking permission.

“Yeah, well that’s been… put off for a moment.” Jude said and sat to the chair next to Zero’s.

Zero leaned forward in his seat. “There’s trouble ahead.” He said and Jelena frowned at him, now paying attention solemnly on him. “Oscar’s back in business.”

Jelena had been waiting to hear from the man. Still, hearing about him now, took her by surprise. Since the fire, she had been busy with repairing the arena and keeping the team up and running. So she had completely forgotten about the man. 

“Does it has something to do with you leaving?” Jelena turned towards Jude, who nodded at her.

“He’s been threatening Jude to get the team back to himself. So, I think we all want the same thing: Oscar out of the pictures.” Zero said without hesitation.

Jelena looked at him, narrowing her eyes. “What are you suggesting?” 

“Nothing yet.” Zero relaxed back on his chair. “But I thought the three of us, could come up with something.”

Jelena seemed to think for a moment before speaking: “A few weeks after I was shot, I found cameras hidden around the office.” She opened her computer and typed something. “It recorded the moment I was shot, but it didn’t show who did it. But…” She turned the screen around for them to see. “…I think someone could make it look like Oscar had done it.”

Both Jude and Zero stared at the screen, which showed the door to the office. The date said it was recorded a day earlier than Jelena was shot. In the video Oscar walks from the darkness of the corridor into his office and soon back out again.

“I know someone who could modify it to look real.” Jude said when Jelena paused the recording.

“And we give it to the police?” Zero clarified, but Jelena’s answer didn’t match with his expectations. 

“I think we can give him a change to choose. Most likely he decides to stay the hell out of our way and we have something to hold over him in the future as well.” Jelena turned the screen around once again. “Do we all agree?” She looked between the couple.

Jude and Zero looked at each other to see what the other was thinking before nodding.

 

 

Zero woke up next morning to a ringing of the doorbell. He cursed whoever had decided to disturb him. With a great effort, he forced his eyes open and smiled when he saw Jude lying next to him and remembered that he wasn’t at his own house this time. Jude looked as tired as Zero felt and rubbed his eyes to get himself awake.

“Who the fuck is that?” Zero mumbled against the pillow.

Jude looked at him and seemed to think who it could be. Then his eyes widened and he almost jumped out of the bed. “Shit!” He cursed and tried to find his clothes.

Zero observed him for a while, a little amused of how Jude ran around the room. “What?” He then asked and Jude stopped for a moment to answer:

“I forgot to cancel the moving company.” Jude resisted the urge to scream in frustration when the doorbell was pressed again.

“Stubborn people…” Zero realized he was already full awake and sat up just in time to see Jude disappear to the living room. 

“Sorry, I overslept.” Jude said as he opened the door and politely smiled to the pissed looking man, who was just about to ring the doorbell for the third time.

“Clearly.” The man said dryly, he had probably seen people in much worst state opening their doors. Jude hadn’t even looked at himself from the mirror and he could only imagine what he looked like. “Do we start with the biggest furniture?” The man asked and looked over Jude’s shoulder.

“Umm… no, you see, I was going to cancel your services yesterday…” Jude wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his stuff anymore. He sure wasn’t ready to go to Boston, not after his conversation with Gideon last night, or not even before that. But at least he had decided to do so, even if he was ready or not. 

“Actually…” Jude jumped when he heard Zero’s voice next to his ear. “…you can start with the couch and the largest boxes there.” He pointed towards the back of the living room.

“But…” Jude stepped aside when the man walked in with his co-workers close behind.

“But the address has changed. I’ll give it to you later.” Zero smiled his ingratiating smile to the men, who just shrugged. Then he turned to Jude and indicated him to follow him to the bedroom. 

“What are you doing?” Jude demanded the minute he closed the door behind them.

Zero smiled wickedly at him, enjoying getting Jude a little worked up. “I thought you would like to move your stuff to the new house, since you’ve already packed everything. Saves you the trouble, you know.”

Jude just gaped at him for a moment. “New house? You mean our house? But it’s not even close of a state for moving in. I halted all the constructions, remember?” 

“Yeah and I started them again a day after.” Zero smiled widely when Jude’s expression softened and he looked at him with big eyes.

“Gideon, I…” Jude felt like all his insides had just melted. This man kept on surprising him, time and again. He had been working so hard to get their house build for the last six months, that it had pained him deeply to end the project. “How did you do that? You haven’t even visited the construction site more than just a couple of times.”

Zero just shrugged. “You think I haven’t paid attention when you were talking about all the things that had been going on down there?” He was a little hurt how Jude thought that he had no idea what was going on at their future house.

“No, of course not, but…” Jude smiled now. “…it’s just a huge project. I’m surprised that you had the time for it.”

“I know a few guys…” Zero joked and smiled when Jude walked to closer and pressed their lips together.

“Thank you.” Jude whispered between the kisses. 

A knock on the door interrupted them, however, and the doorbell ringer asked from the other side: “Do you want us to take the bed?”

Jude looked at the bed, a little alarmed, since the bedsheets were all rumpled. He quickly started to gather all the duvets when Zero stopped him: “Let it be.” Then he walked to the door and opened it. “You were prepared to go all the way to Boston, right?” 

“Of course.” Jude heard the man say.

“Then you have plenty of time to go and eat something. My treat.” Zero dig out his wallet and gave the men some of his cash. “A couple hours should be fine.”

“Thank you, mister Zero. We’ll come finish things up later then.” The awe was clear in his voice and the men left the apartment, loudly chatting with each other.

When they were gone, Zero turned towards Jude with a wicked smile again.

“What was that for?” Jude narrowed his eyes, but couldn’t help but smile to Gideon’s expression.

“You truly are clueless sometimes.” Zero laughed and walked closer. “Since they will be gone for a few hours, we can say goodbye to this apartment properly. I mean, it really holds pretty good memories.” Zero caressed Jude’s shoulders and whispered against Jude’s mouth: “Like our first time in the living room.”

Jude swallowed and gazed at Zero lustfully. “We better save it for the last then.” He finally found his voice and they both grinned. Zero rose to his tiptoes to kiss Jude. He cupped the back of Jude’s neck to keep him as close as possible. Jude traveled his hands up and down Zero’s back, which was still bare since he hadn’t bothered to put on more than jeans. Nothing more, as Jude was about to discover when he slid his hand under Zero’s waistband. 

“You’re not even wearing underwear.” He stated as he broke their kiss for a moment.

“Knew I wouldn’t need them.” Zero laughed and captured Jude’s lips again, causing them to fall down to the bed. 

As Zero kissed his way down on his body, Jude took the change to roll around and crawl towards the nightstand, much to Zero’s disappointment, as he tried his best to follow Jude and kiss his skin at the same time. Jude reached to the drawer and checked it over for a bottle of lube and a condom, he had forgotten to pack. He tossed them to the side of the bed and relaxed under Zero’s weight as he slowly undressed him.

“Are you just going to lie there?” Zero asked, amused. 

“Mmmhmmm…” Jude hummed as he rested his head against his arms. For the first time in a month, he was able to forget everything that had been bothering him. He savored the feeling of Zero’s lips against his skin and his hands massaging his lower back and thighs. Just when he was about to fall asleep Zero bit his inner thigh and startled him awake. 

“Morning, sunshine.” Jude could feel Gideon grin against his skin.

“Very funny. You almost caused me a heart attack.” Jude looked back at Zero who now traveled up again with feather light kisses and finally reclaimed Jude’s mouth, pressing his body flat against Jude’s at the same time. 

Zero pressed his finger inside Jude and moved it slowly, the position itself making him tight. He carefully added another finger, at the same time making Jude comfortable by caressing his shoulders. He couldn’t even remember the last time Jude had been so tense. It seemed that all the muscles in his body were taut. Zero made it to his mission to get Jude as relaxed as possible, which clearly wasn’t something that was on Jude’s mind as he already tried to pat Zero’s arm away from his ass.

“You sure?” Zero hesitantly withdrew his hand away and opened the condom package. Jude just hummed for reply again and closed his eyes. Zero positioned himself better on top of him and slowly pushed in. For a second, Jude’s whole body tensed even more, which Zero hadn’t known was even possible, but then he forced himself to relax. Zero moaned loudly as he pushed himself all the way inside of Jude and took a deep breath to keep himself calm. Jude had turned his face down against the mattress, making it impossible for Zero to see his expression. 

Zero kissed the back of Jude’s head. “Okay?” He asked and felt, more than heard, Jude approve.

Zero started to move slowly, kissing Jude’s skin where ever he was able to reach. He only allowed himself to get lost in the moment and move faster, when he heard Jude gasp in pleasure and relax even more. He thought that every thrust would be his last, but he lasted surprisingly long for a man who hadn’t had sex for a while. Zero collapsed boneless against Jude’ back as he slowly descended from the highs. Then he traveled his hand between Jude and the mattress to finish him off as well.

 

 

After napping for half an hour, they went to shower, only to realize they had no towels expect for a small hand towel, which they both used to try get themselves at least a little bit dry. Jude had already packed everything else. 

Next they said goodbye to kitchen. Not the same way as all the other rooms.

“I remember seeing it… somewhere around here…” Jude went through the four cardboard boxes around the kitchen. Zero sat at the counter top, watching Jude bend over one of the boxes. “Found it!” Jude finally yelled and got back up with a bottle of champagne in his hands. 

“I still think we should’ve saved that for our new house.” Zero said as Jude started to open the bottle.

“We can buy a better one there. This I got from Lionel as a birthday present. Besides, we don’t even know if we can stay there or not.” Jude said the last words a little melancholy. Zero went silent as well. Oscar had really messed up their plans, but no matter where they’d end up, at least they would be together and that was all that mattered. A loud pop jolted Zero away from his thoughts and he laughed when almost half of the champagne foamed out of the bottle, soaking Jude’s… no, Zero’s shirt completely. 

Jude looked around the kitchen in panic and then sighed. “We don’t have any glasses.” He said then and looked disappointedly at Zero, who jumped down from the counter. 

“We don’t need those.” Zero took the bottle from Jude and took a gulp straight from the bottle, dripping some champagne over his shirt as well. He wiped his mouth to the back of his hand and gave the bottle back to Jude.

“Classy…” Jude retorted and took a sip as well. Zero watched him drink with keen eyes. “Jesus, this is bad.” Jude turn up his nose in disgust. Cheap and warm champagne wasn’t a very good mix. 

Zero slowly licked his lips and pulled Jude closer from his hips. “Wanna continue the celebration in the living room?” He said with a low voice and nodded towards the door.

“Only if you drink the rest.” Jude joked and waved the, still almost full, bottle in front of Gideon’s face.

“How can I pass?” Zero asked, eyeing the champagne warily, not fond of its taste either. 

Jude seemed to think for a moment, but then a deep frown appeared between his eyebrows, when he suddenly remembered the situation they were in. Zero quickly noticed his line of thoughts and gently pressed their lips together. He took the bottle from Jude’s hands and replaced them by his owns. He started to guide Jude out of the kitchen, kissing his face and neck at the same time. Jude could still hear the nagging voices at the back of his head, reminding him of all the shit that had been going on. It was only when his back hit on something, he forgot the voices. Jude realized he was now in front of the fireplace, under Zero’s playing shirt, which still hang on the wall. 

“Reminds you of something?” Zero asked as he lifted his head to look at Jude.

“It does…” Jude pretended to think. “…I can’t quite place it.”

“Let me remind you.” Zero smirked and kissed Jude hungrily, ripping his shirt open, which was still wet from the champagne. Jude took Zero’s shirt off as well and let out a little gasp when Zero started to kiss his neck and chest. “This tastes better on your skin.” He commented after licking the sticky champagne from Jude’s skin. 

“We’re not doing, what you’re thinking about doing.” Jude said as he saw Zero’s eyes gleam. “I’m not going to clean this house again.”

“Spoilsport.” Zero faked to be disappointed, but continued his travel down on Jude’s body. 

Jude looked around the room and leaned heavily against the fireplace when Zero took him into his mouth. He had never thought that he would get attached to some apartment, but now he realized he would miss this place. It was the first place where they could be just them, without anyone else knowing. They had shared their first (proper) kiss, first fuck and even first deep conversation within these four walls. 

Jude gasped as Zero sucked him more forcefully than before. “Don’t think.” He mumbled around his cock and made Jude smile and close his eyes to enjoy the moment. Where ever he would end up, it would be okay as long as he was with Gideon.

After Zero had finished sucking him off, Jude turned the tables and returned the favor. After he had gotten back up from his knees, Zero leaned their foreheads together and slightly swayed them both back and forth, as he often liked to do when they were close together. 

“Why haven’t you packet that?” Zero looked past Jude to the wall.

Jude looked up over his shoulder to see Zero’s playing shirt still hanging there. “I don’t know. Guess, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take it with me or not.”

“It was a gift.” Zero teased, but Jude stayed serious.

“I know. But I thought that I would miss you every time I would look at it in Boston.” Jude told the truth. 

Zero caressed his cheek and was about to lean over to kiss him, when the doorbell rang, not just once but four times in a row. Zero stared at Jude, with a look like he was willing to kill that man. Jude just smiled and gently pushed Zero away so he could correct his clothes and open the door.

 

 

Since Jude wasn’t very keen on seeing Oscar and since he didn’t want his “father” to know Zero had anything to do with this and the man already had grudge against Jelena, Kyle had agreed on meeting with Oscar alone. They owed her a lot.

Zero watched as Jude fiddled with his hands and stared out of the window, all the while shaking his leg nervously. Zero could feel the trembling of the table.

“Could you just relax?” He finally snapped when he couldn’t take anymore. “I’m sure Kyle will be fine.” He continued a little softer this time when Jude looked at him apologizing.

“I know. It’s just…” Jude corrected his position on the chair and leaned against the table. “…our whole future depends on Oscar’s decision. What if he’s not going to back off?”

“Then we’ll give the video to the police.” Zero stated simply, but Jude wasn’t so optimistic.

“But it’s not certain that the police won’t see that the recording is modified.” Jude continued to fiddle with his hands and almost jumped when his phone buzzed on the table. He quickly checked the message he got and Zero could see him relax. “Jelena said that Oscar agreed on leaving us alone.” Jude closed his eyes and exhaled.

“Just in time.” Zero smiled to Jude, when a waitress brought their dinner to the table.

Jude looked at his plate and felt his stomach rumble. Just a few minutes ago he thought, that there was no way he could eat anything, but now he was extremely hungry.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.” Zero started and leaned over the table to get Jude’s attention away from his food. “Since Jelena almost smiled, when you said you could come back to work, I think she can also give you a little time off.”

“Probably, but why would I need a time off?” Jude frowned, mouth full of food. 

Zero grinned and shook his head, Jude amazed him sometimes of how clueless he could really be. “Because, I thought we could need some time away. Maybe a weekend getaway in Italy.”

“In the middle of the season?” Jude looked at Zero like he had gone mad.

“I can take a few days off. Tell Pete something like… I have a flu and need some time to recover.” Zero said smoothly and even thought Pete had become quite good at seeing pass his bullshit, he knew he could pull it off.

“You would do that?” Jude asked, almost unbelieving. Gideon managed to surprise him, yet again. 

“Of course.” Zero stretched out his hand across the table for Jude’s. “And if we have some time, we could arrange stuff in our house.”

Jude looked at Gideon’s hand before taking it. “Italy sound great.” He smiled and squeezed his hand gently. Almost feeling like tearing up. Just yesterday he had thought that their relationship was over and that he wouldn’t be able to see Gideon for a long time and now here they were, sitting across from each other in one of their favorite restaurants, planning on a vacation aboard, which they had never done before. As Jude gazed into Gideon’s eyes, he knew the love they had for each other would conquer all the shit life threw at them.


	10. We should've known better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's taken me longer than I expected to get this chapter done for posting. I'll try to download the next one this weekend :)

Lionel was shocked, angry and extremely happy at the same time, when she saw Jude and Zero standing behind her door. At first she considered giving Jude a great slap to his face, which he surely deserved, but instead she hugged him. That’s how worried she had been for her friend.

Jude looked towards Zero over Lionel’s shoulder and they shared a smile. They had both thought that Lionel would yell her lungs out to scold Jude, but it seemed that they had been wrong.

After Lionel had enough of hugging Jude, they moved to sit down. 

“So what’s going on?” Lionel asked when she managed to calm down a bit.

Jude thought for a moment where to start. His mind had been full of unpleasant thoughts for so long and now that they were gone, his brains seemed to be completely empty. Eventually he managed to tell Lionel the most important details: Oscar, arena’s building and how the kiss between Jelena and Zero gave Jude the perfect reason to break up with him.

“Are you completely daft?” Lionel had been silent throughout the whole story, but when Jude was finished, she unleashed the anger that had been swelling inside her. It seemed that they had rejoiced too early. “You let Oscar, of all people, blackmail you and you didn’t even tell us?” 

Jude had been angry at himself too, but since Lionel knew how dangerous Oscar could be, he thought she was a little over line for shouting at him. 

“He threatened to kill you both. What was I supposed to do?” Jude had asked the same thing from Gideon as well and he knew he would get the same answer from Lionel.

“We would’ve figured something out!” Lionel huffed in annoyance, but she couldn’t help feeling glad that Jude had finally come to his senses. 

“No need to dwell on it.” Zero spoke this time, relaxing in the couch. “We managed to get Oscar off our backs. He won’t cause us anymore trouble.” 

Lionel nodded in agreement. 

“There’s one question we hadn’t had an answer yet.” Zero continued and both, Jude and Lionel, looked at him with a frown. “Why did you slash Jude’s tire?” 

Jude had never seen Lionel get embarrassed, but instead of amusement he thought he would feel when he finally saw that, he found out that it didn’t suit Lionel at all. In that moment Lionel was glad that she hadn’t slapped Jude.

“I told you earlier…” Lionel averted their eyes and concentrated to her nails instead. “…I wanted to slow Jude down a little bit.”

“I can understand that, but why didn’t you stick around to talk with me then? It kind of lost its point, since you weren’t there when we tried to leave.” Jude said and even thought he had been extremely pissed off when he found out that she had ruined one of his tires, he was now smiling sheepishly. 

“After I managed to cut the tire, I saw Zero going into your apartment, and since you didn’t kick him out, I thought that you had managed to talk. Or do something else, which isn’t my business. So I guessed I wasn’t needed at the time.” Lionel finally met Jude’s gaze. “Can you forgive me?” She then asked, almost shyly and nudged Jude’s knee with her foot. 

“If you can forgive me, then maybe I can consider it.” Jude promised.

Lionel smiled widely, but the smile faded quickly, when Jude asked what had been bothering him for a while: “Do you know what happened to the security guard?” Jude could see right away from Lionel's expression that she got some information about the guy, which no one else knew. “You told us that you were going to meet with someone a few days before the fire. Was it him?”

Lionel glanced warily at Zero, wondering if she could trust him enough to tell the truth while he was in the same room. In the end, she decided to tell them, if Jude trusted Zero, she would trust him as well. “I went to see him, yes. Oscar told me he had an alibi for the night me and Pete were stuck in the garage. I managed to make him tell me the person’s name, who was going to verify his alibi. And it was Paul Baker, the security guard. So I went to meet with him and tried to make him change his mind. In the end he agreed… and that decision probably costed him his life.” Lionel took a deep breath before continuing. She looked like this had been bothering her for quite some time and it made Jude’s chest clench uncomfortably for not being there when she needed him. “I thought I could have something to hold over Oscar if the time came, but it wasn’t worth it.”

Jude looked sadly at Lionel. He wanted to comfort her somehow, but didn’t know how.

“So you don’t think it was Paul who set the fire?” Zero asked and Lionel nodded at him.

“I think Oscar wanted to make him pay for not sticking by the plan. And burning down the arena gave him a change to get the team back.” Lionel then smiled at Jude slyly. “It seems you managed to ruin his plan completely.” 

“Yeah… but not very nicely.” Jude answered and felt grateful that things had turned out the way they did.

“Here.” Zero took something out of the bag he had been carrying and handed it over the table to Lionel. She looked suspiciously at the present he was handing to her. “Come on. Take it. It’s not a bomb.”

Lionel took it and cautiously opened it. She smiled, when she saw what was inside. “Thank you. I’ve been missing this.” 

Jude hadn’t known Gideon was going to bring something to her and he tried desperately to see what she was holding in her hands.

Lionel picked the object from the box and examined the new and shining tablet. “This still doesn’t make up all the lost data I had in there.” She then side glared at Zero, but soon smiled wickedly, making Zero grin as well.

“Why would you give her a tablet?” Jude asked, a little disappointed that he had no idea what was going on. 

“I’m taking you to Italy, so Lionel gets a tablet. How more fare can I get?” Zero grinned at him.

“You’re going to Italy?” Lionel gasped and immediately forgot the tablet. “When?”

“Tomorrow.” Zero answered. He had called to Pete during their drive here. The coach had been extremely mad, but Zero managed to lie quite easily how ill he was, so he had gotten off the hook. For now at least. He knew once the team returned, Pete would press him harder than the others, even more so if he didn’t look sick. But now he was going to enjoy a weekend away with his number one guy and since the team was in Chicago, no one could come and check if he was truly ill or not.

“I wish I could go too.” Lionel crossed her arms around her chest and seemed to daydream about city vacation for a while. “But I have audition tomorrow.”

“You do?” Jude was surprised to hear that. Not because he didn’t think Lionel wasn’t up to it, but because she had been so lost about what to do after she lost the team.

“It’s just a supporting role.” Lionel confessed, but she still seemed happy. “But I have to start somewhere, since my last movie wasn’t a very huge hit.”

“I’m glad for you.” Jude smiled at her. “I wish I could be here to celebrate with you.” 

“No, don’t!” Lionel leaned forward and shook her hands in denial. “You two go and enjoy your vacation. God knows you’ve deserved it.”

“We will.” Zero looked at Jude and when he saw his boyfriend smile, it made him smile as well.

 

 

Jude sat down with a heavy sigh. He was exhausted and knew that the call to Jelena about his vacation wouldn’t be pleasant, but he was content. The thing with Oscar was finally settled, his stomach was full and tomorrow he was going to head towards Italy with Gideon. 

Jude leaned against Zero's couch and closed his eyes, allowing himself to savor the good feeling for a moment. He heard Gideon walk closer and opened his eyes, when he felt the couch dip on his both sides. Zero sat down on his lap with his full weight and smiled down on Jude. Without a word he leaned closer to Jude's face and kissed his temple, where he proceed down to his cheek and jaw. Jude wrapped his arms lazily around Gideon’s waist to keep him close. When their mouths finally met, the kiss was almost violent, as they both tried to claim as much of each other’s mouths as possible. Zero cupped Jude’s neck with his other hand to press their mouths even harder together. He moved slightly on Jude’s lap, rubbing their crotches together. Jude slid his hands underneath Gideon’s shirt, but then the kiss was over. Zero leaned backwards and grinned satisfactory, when he looked at Jude licking his swollen lips. 

For a moment they just stared at each other before Zero leaned closer again. “Should we continue this on the bedroom?” He whispered against Jude’s mouth and traveled his hand on the back of his head and neck. 

Jude swallowed and nodded. Zero claimed his mouth for a short kiss before standing up and dragging Jude with him. He pushed Jude to lie down on the bed and took a step back to take off his shirt. Jude watched him, a playful smile on his lips. When Zero got rid of that shirt, he climbed over Jude to press their mouths together again. He sucked on Jude’s lower lip before slowly starting to kiss his way down on Jude’s body, getting rid of his suit at the same time. Zero started with the tie and tossed it to the floor, which he knew Jude would curse later, but wouldn’t care at the moment. Then he started to unbutton his shirt, kissing the exposed skin at the same time. Zero tucked it from underneath Jude’s waistband and started to pull it upwards, so Jude could take it off. Normally Jude would’ve lifted his back a little, so the task would be easier, but this time he didn’t even stir.

“Jude?” Zero looked up and was astonished to see that Jude’s eyes were closed. He crawled next to Jude and smiled when he saw that he was really asleep. He couldn’t remember a time Jude had fallen asleep during sex. He breathed calmly and only then Zero realized how exhausted Jude must’ve felt. 

Zero carefully settled himself next to Jude and pulled the blankets over them both. He watched Jude’s sleeping face and softly stroked the side of his face. Jude sighed in his sleep, but didn’t wake up. Zero was sure Jude was going to be ashamed in the morning, but he really needed some sleep and even though Zero had looked forward on having mind blowing sex with him, it could wait till the morning. 

 

 

Jude and Zero stood in line, waiting to get through the security check, in middle of the airport. It seemed like everyone else in the city had decided to go on a vacation at the same time. The line moved so slowly that Jude had decided he wouldn’t drink even a drop of water until they were on the plane, so he wouldn’t have to leave to the bathroom. Whenever the line did move, Zero tried to look pass the other passengers to see how far they still were and let out a frustrated grunt, when the people stopped moving again.

“I still can’t believe that there were no private jets available.” Zero muttered, when the line, yet again, seemed to stop completely.

“Well, with such a short notice, they couldn’t have organize us anything better.” Jude smiled as he watched Zero getting nervous. It was relaxing to be the one to be anxious. They had still gotten first class tickets.

Zero rolled his eyes to Jude’s statement. He knew their schedule was pretty tight and he was fine going through security check and fly in a “normal” airplane. It was the people that made him nervous. Going to vacation was supposed to give him private time with Jude and instead of chatting freely about everything or anything, they had to stand in a crowded airport, where everyone close enough could hear their conversations.

Jude seemed to know what he was thinking and looked around. He then leaned closer to Gideon and talked with a low voice: “See, no one has recognized you.” Jude looked at Gideon’s outfit and couldn’t resist the urge to smile. He had dark sunglasses, which covered most of his face and a cap to hide his identity. “That hat suits you.” He nudged the visor down playfully, gaining an angry glare from Gideon. Or at least he thought it was angry, since he couldn’t see Zero’s facial expressions well. 

“Very funny.” Zero muttered and corrected the position of the cap. He looked back at Jude and then smiled. “I know I look ridiculous. I just don’t want anyone to recognize me. Pete would kill me if he’d see me going to a vacation instead of lying beneath the sheets.” He explained and Jude understood perfectly. He wouldn’t want to get Gideon on trouble just because he wanted to go to a vacation with him. 

Jude leaned closer to Gideon. “I think you look sexy.” He whispered to his ear, making Zero took a deep breathe. 

“I could say the same about you.” Zero eyed Jude up and down. He was wearing casual clothing for once and it really suited him. Jude only grinned and entwined their hands together, while looking away at the crowd. The gesture took Zero by surprise. They had held hands before many times, just not in public. At first he almost pulled his hand away in reflex, but then slowly entwined their fingers. Jude squeezed his hand a little, making him know that he appreciated it. Zero felt his heart beat a little faster as he watched at Jude. He was happier than in a long time. 

"You know, I've never flied a normal airplane." Zero confessed and almost laughed, when he saw Jude's stunned expression.

"Really? How's that even possible?" Jude asked shocked.

"Yeah..." Zero looked around the airport and shrugged. "We never went anywhere when I was a kid and when I was older, I had no money. After I got my first contract, I was flying over the country in private jets."

Jude nodded slowly. He had never thought about it, but it made sense.

“Jude Kinkade?” A familiar voice called behind them and they both turned around to see detective De Sario standing there.

They didn’t have even a time to say anything, when two police officers walked behind Jude and started to handcuff him. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Jude was in too much of a shock to say anything, but Zero protested loudly. He took the sunglasses off so that De Sario could see his murderous glare.

De Sario ignored Zero’s question and turned his attention to Jude. “Jude Kinkade. We’re arresting you for attempted murder of Jelena Howard. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you…”

“I haven’t done anything!” Jude tried to say, but one of the officers were already pushing him forward, towards the exit. Jude looked back at Zero. His eyes were wide and full of fear of what was going on. Zero took a step after him, but De Sario stopped him with his hand. 

“I recommend you to stay here unless you want to be handcuffed as well.” The detective said seriously. 

Zero took a hesitant step back. All he wanted to do, was to run after Jude and find out what was going on, but if he got arrested as well, he wouldn’t be able to do anything for him. 

“I’d like to hear you later today at the police station.” De Sario continued before walking away as well.

Zero stayed behind and stared after him in disbelief. After a moment he started to notice that everyone around him were staring at him, just noticing that he was Zero and wondering what had just happened. Usually some people tried to approach him in hopes of getting an autograph, but this time they all stayed a good distance away, which Zero was grateful as he took the cap off and threw it to the nearest bin before heading towards the exit. Forgetting their luggage to the airport.


	11. Contradictions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, everyone, for updating so late. I clearly shouldn't make promises now that I'm so busy that I can't even write once a week to keep the updates coming. Thankfully the Christmas holidays are coming, so I should have more time to write. Enjoy the chapter!

Zero drummed the wheel of his car. He had been stuck in traffic for the last hour and it was getting on his nerves along with everything else. Once he had left the airport, he had realized he forgot their luggage and they were probably on their way to Italy, while their owners were stuck in L.A. Zero still couldn’t believe the turn of events. He had been looking forward of spending time in Italy with Jude and now he was heading towards the police station for questioning. 

The car in front of him started to move forward and Zero pushed the gas pedal, just to use the breaks right after, when the car stopped before him. The line was stuck again. Zero cursed to himself. He didn’t even listen to the radio like he usually did, since the songs made him feel even angrier. Still it seemed to go off on its own and he was about to hit the damn thing, when he realized it was his phone. Zero picked it up and wondered why Kyle would try to reach him. At first he wasn't going to answer to her since he was way too much in a bad mood to talk with anyone right now, but maybe she could light some information on what was going on.

“Hi.” He answered simply and waited for her to tell why she had called him for. He didn't regret picking up the phone after all.

“Hi.” Kyle answered, she seemed to be on edge. “I just got out of a police station. The detective had found a CCTV recording of me shopping the time Jelena was shot. I had no other choice but to tell him that you had asked me to lie. I’m so sorry! I had completely forgotten that I had been there that day.” Kyle was sure Zero was going to yell at her and she wouldn’t blame him, but instead there was silence on the other end of the line. “Zero?”

Zero had closed his eyes and leaned his head against the bench. He had an awful gnawing feeling in his guts that things were spiraling downhill fast and he was helpless to stop it. “You did what you had to do. I’ll sort the rest.” He finally answered to Kyle and hang up. At some other time, he would’ve been angry at her for not remembering such an important detail, but right at the moment his thoughts were on getting Jude’s alibi back. It wasn’t going to be easy.

The honking of the car behind him, made Zero return back to the traffic. The line had started to move forward without him noticing and Zero quickly started the car to get on moving.

 

 

Zero stared at the scratchy cover of the interrogation room’s table. It seemed like yesterday since he had last been here, but many things had happened between that time and the present. The door opening made him look up and see detective De Sario walk in and take the seat opposite of him.

“So, could you tell me once again about what happened the night Jelena Howard was shot?” De Sario asked and examined Zero closely.

“There’s nothing to tell.” Zero leaned back on his chair and stared the detective down. “Nothing has changed.”

“Oh, but I disagree on that. Lot of things has changed after you last gave me your testimony.” De Sario smiled dryly at him and relaxed on his chair as well. “We found out that Kyle Hart who confirmed your alibi, was clothe shopping in a nearby mall at the time Miss. Howard was shot.” De Sario paused for a moment to see how Zero reacted on the news, but there was no change on his expression. “How do you explain that?” 

Zero laughed dryly and looked around the dark room before locking his gaze back at the detective. “Women can be forgetful.” 

“She said you asked her to lie for you.” De Sario narrowed his eyes.

“Can’t remember. Maybe I did, because I knew you wouldn’t believe our alibies.” Zero shrugged. “Anyway, it doesn’t change a thing if she saw us or not. I was with Jude the time Jelena was shot.” Zero emphasized the last line with a low voice, making sure that the detective understood that he wasn’t going to change his testimony now. If Jude would go down, he would go down with him.

“Fine.” De Sario shook his head in disinterest. “You can stick with that story. There are plenty of other things which indicates Jude’s guilt on the case. I just hope you’re not going to get yourself arrested for protecting a guilty man.” This time De Sario saw Zero’s tough face grumble as he pressed his lips together and stared at him almost hostilely.

“What other things?” Zero asked between clenched teeth. 

De Sario smiled smugly, clearly enjoying of getting a reaction out of him. “We have been monitoring Jude Kinkade’s bank account for some time now. It shows that he started to withdraw substantial amounts of cash, sometime after Miss. Howard was shot. You know anything about that?”

Zero started to think back on the time and tried fiercely to figure out a reason for Jude to do so. He went through every business meeting to a private dinners they had, before answering: “He probably prepared for the move to Boston. Many of the moving companies require large tips.” He couldn’t come up with anything else. He saw that he failed to convince the detective.

“It’s not only that what made us thing something was going on.” De Sario continued, not interested on pressing Zero more about the matter when he clearly had no idea where Jude would need such a money. “The fact that you two were trying to leave the country, gave us the district attorney’s permission to arrest Jude.”

Zero let out a nervous laugh, was this guy serious? They were going to a vacation and now it was turned against Jude. “So you’re thinking that we were trying to leave for good? I was the one who bought the plane tickets to Italy. Two-way tickets!” 

“Yes, but was it really your idea of leaving?” De Sario asked, making Zero even more worked up.

“Yes, in a matter of fact it was.” Zero answered angrily. 

“So you were planning it as well?”

“What? We hadn’t planned anything!” Zero couldn’t believe this guy wasn’t backing off.

“Maybe you didn’t, but Jude clearly did.” De Sario leaned forward in his chair and kept his eyes locked on Zero’s. “Why else would he change jobs, arrange moving to Boston and then suddenly try to leave the country to Italy?” 

This time Zero’s mind went blank. He could’ve easily explained what had happened between him, Jude and Oscar, but nothing came out. This guy wasn’t going to believe him, no matter what he said. It wasn’t the idea that the police thought Jude was trying to leave that infuriated him, but that it was his own fault. He was the one who stopped Jude from going to Boston. He was the one who asked Jude to go to Italy with him. And now Jude was arrested because of that.

“I think that’s all for today.” De Sario stood up. “I’m not going to charge you with anything. It seems Mister Kinkade acted on his own.”

Zero just stared ahead of himself. He couldn’t believe that he had failed on defending Jude. He came out of his thoughts only when De Sario was leaving. “Can I see him?” Zero asked, almost pleading. 

De Sario turned around and shook his head. “He’s in pretrial detention for a moment. No one else than his lawyer is allowed to meet with him until his arraignment has been done.” With that the detective walked outside, leaving Zero to feel utterly hopeless.

 

 

Jude sat in an uncomfortable chair and thought about all the worst scenarios that could come up with this. He imagined himself inside a prison and even in a death row. Jude’s heart was beating fast in his chest, making it hard to breathe. His skin was soaked from cold sweat and he was glad he wasn’t wearing a suit today, since he would’ve probably passed out if he had.

Jude couldn’t say how long he had been sitting there alone with his thoughts, before detective De Sario finally walked in. He was sure it had been at least two hours, but it could’ve been longer. Jude had a strange feeling that Gideon was somewhere nearby and he wished with all his heart that they would be in Italy right this moment. 

“You probably know why we arrested you, Jude?” De Sario said as he sat down and stared at Jude as if he knew everything about him.

Jude licked his lips and swallowed when his throat suddenly felt really dry. He had gotten a glass of water earlier, but he had already downed it. “I know what you’re accusing me of, but I have no idea why.” He managed to say and tried to find any doubt on the detective’s face when he would realize that he had made a mistake, but De Sario just stared back at him.

“Okay, fine. We can do this the hard way.” De Sario sighed and leaned against the table. “First of all, we found out that Kyle Hart lied about seeing you two at the locker rooms. She was shopping at the time and we have security camera’s footage to prove it.”

Jude forced himself to stay quiet and think about a decent explanation. His mind was blank, however, and he had to fight hard to not let that show on his face.

It seemed De Sario didn’t need his answer, when he continued without waiting. “We found out that your boyfriend, Zero, had paid miss Hart to lie. You know anything about that?” This time the detective smiled smugly and Jude felt the hair on his neck stand up.

“It was me.” He blurted out without thinking. Way to go, Jude, he thought to himself, but he wasn’t going to take that back. 

“You?” De Sario leaned back in his chair and stared at him again without even blinking.

“Yes.” Jude swallowed again. “Zero had nothing to do with it.”

“Then why would he claim that he had paid her himself?” De Sario narrowed his eyes, challenging Jude to explain.

“He’s probably trying to protect me.” Jude had been right: Zero was nearby. Maybe even in the next room. He wished he could see him. 

“So we should arrest him for lying?” De Sario asked and even though Jude knew he wasn’t going to do that, he still felt like panicking. 

“No. He just thinks he could make it easier on me.” Jude realized he hadn’t even asked to contact his attorney. 

De Sario seemed to realize what he was thinking and quickly talked so he wouldn’t have to ask. “Zero said he had tried to contact your lawyer. He’s on vacation right now, but is going to join us as soon as possible. But you don’t need him now. We’re only trying to figure out what happened that night and you and your friends haven’t been very co-operative.” 

Jude looked at the nearest wall and took a deep breath. He knew he had a right to wait for his lawyer to arrive, but if he didn’t answer De Sario’s questions now, it would look even more suspicious later. It would even save Gideon and Kyle from being accused of assisting him.

“Very well.” Jude said after a moment. “I’ll answer your questions.”

“Good.” De Sario smiled. He looked like he had just won a game of chest or something. “Miss Hart had her own motives to help you and she clarified those herself. What I want to know is what really happened that night.” 

“I already told you: I was with Zero.” Jude said without hesitation. He had promised Gideon, he would stick with that story no matter what happened and Gideon would do the same. Jude felt a little hopeful, when he saw that De Sario was unhappy with his answer. It proved that Gideon had confirmed his alibi. Jude just hoped it wouldn’t take him down as well.

“Okay.” De Sario said and Jude was glad he wasn’t going to dwell on it any further. “I also wanted to ask you about the money you have been withdrawing from your bank account.”

Jude frowned at him. He had no idea what money he was talking about.

“For the last five months you’ve been drawing regularly good amounts of cash from your account. What for?” Jude felt De Sario stare at him and he tried fiercely to figure out where he had needed all that money. Then a realization hit him.

“I gave the money to our constructor.” Jude hurriedly answered. “I gave it with cash, so he could give it to the subcontractors so they could use it to make purchases without my permission every time.” To Jude’s horror, he saw that De Sario didn’t believe him. “That’s the truth! Where else would I’ve needed that?” The minute he asked the question, he regretted it. 

“I wonder.” De Sario stared at Jude again trying to break him down, but when Jude just stared back at him, without knowing what to answer, he told his opinion. “I believe you’ve been saving that money for your… trip to Italy.” Jude opened his mouth to protest, but had no chance when De Sario continued. “You bought tickets to Italy so you could get out of our reach and continue to travel somewhere where we could not find you.” He didn’t even question anymore, but clearly accused Jude of all those things.

“I…” Jude didn’t know what to say and just stared at the surface of the table. He couldn’t believe their plan of going to vacation would cause such a huge misunderstanding. “I didn’t come up with the idea.” He said silently.

“Come up with what?” De Sario asked sternly, trying to push Jude even more so he would confess.

Jude looked back up at the detective. “It wasn’t my idea to go to Italy.” He clarified, even though he was sure it wouldn’t change anything.

This time De Sario didn’t say anything. He just stared at him for a moment before standing up. “You’ll be staying here for the night. Tomorrow we’ll find out when your arraignment's going to be.”

Jude watched as De Sario walked outside, leaving him alone with his thoughts again. His heart wasn’t beating fast anymore. He was numb. Wishing that this bad dream would just end, but he knew it wasn’t going to.


	12. Revealing the truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! I'm so glad I have time to write again and that you don't have to wait so long for the new chapters.

Luis De Sario had been a detective for many years. He considered himself as a good man, who fought against crime at any cost. During the years, he had learned from a hard way, that you couldn’t catch all the criminals with legal ways. They used questionable methods to commit and conceal their crimes, so it was nearly impossible to reach them without breaking some rules. De Sario had always had a hunch about who had done it and it was no different this time. He was absolutely certain that Jude Kinkade had shot Jelena Howard. At his first years as a detective, many of the criminals, he had known were guilty, had gotten away from his grasp. Since then he had learned ways to get them behind bars, where they belonged. 

De Sario parked his car in front of a recently build house. It was still surrounded by fences, since the yard works were still incomplete. He had to ignore the signs that forbid entering the area and walked straight towards the entrance of the building. At first he was going to ring the doorbell, but found out it hadn’t been installed yet, so he knocked instead and stepped inside without invitation. 

The entrance was empty and De Sario took the opportunity to look around the house for a moment. As he walked further inside, the ceiling rose high and he was able to see towards the yard through high windows. The living room and kitchen seemed to be ready. It wasn’t the house itself he was interested at, but the cardboard boxes lying around. De Sario walked to the kitchen isle and after looking around to ensure no one was coming, he carefully opened one of the boxes. It was filled with dishes. He was about to close it and move to the next one, when someone entered the room.

“Can I help you?” 

De Sario turned around to see a middle-aged man standing at the staircase, looking at him warily, clearly wondering if he should call the police.

“Detective De Sario.” He quickly took his badge and showed it briefly to the man as he walked closer. “I am here to see mister Calvados.”

“That’s me.” The man narrowed his eyes and wondered why the detective would want to speak with him.

“I’ve been investigation the attempted murder of the basketball team’s owner. I’m sure you’ve heard of that.” De Sario examined the man’s reaction carefully, he seemed surprised when he brought that up.

“Yeah, I’ve heard. What does it have to do with me?” Mister Calvados asked.

“Can we sit down?” De Sario pointed towards the dining table, which was the only piece of furniture in the room.

“Sure.” Calvados said and they sat down. “I hope this isn’t going to take long. Mister Zero’s furniture are being transported today.”

“It depends how co-operative you are.” De Sario said flatly and saw the man go nervous. “You probably know that your other customer, Mr. Kinkade, has been arrested yesterday?” 

“No.” Calvados looked at him with wide eyes. “Why is that?”

“He’s a suspect of shooting miss. Howard’s.” De Sario answered and stared at the man solemnly. “We’ve found out that he has withdrew significant amounts of money from his bank account. He claims he has given most of those to you. Is that correct?”

Calvados seemed to think for a while, before his face lit up and he nodded eagerly. “Yes, he had given me money for sudden purchases, in case he isn’t reachable. I do have all the documents upstairs.” He pointed towards the staircase.

“Can you get those for me?” De Sario asked and Calvados got up and went to fetch the files. He had uncomfortable feeling in his guts that his backup plan wasn’t going to work, but he had to try.

It didn’t take long for the prime constructor to return with the needed papers. He gave the files to De Sario, who glanced through them. Everything seemed to be in order.

“Do you think I could keep these files?” De Sario asked after a short silence.

“I can get a copy for…”

“The originals, I mean. I'll repay you, of course.” De Sario took a bundle of cash from his jacket’s pocket and slid it towards the man along the surface of the table. He watched keenly as Calvados looked at the amount of money and considered his proposition. After a time, which felt like forever, Calvados finally reached out to took the cash and counted them. De Sario smiled and leaned backwards in his chair. “I assume you’re not going to testify in court either, if asked?”

“Of course not, sir.” Calvados said and stood up. “Excuse me, but I have a lot to do. It was pleasure doing business with you.”

“The pleasure was all mine.” De Sario shook the man’s hand before walking out of the building. He was relieved to know that his biggest problem had disappeared. The true criminal was going to get what he deserved: conviction. 

 

 

Zero was damned if he couldn’t help Jude get out of this mess. He had managed to calm himself just enough, so he was able to wait still through the night and most of the day, but then his nerves had burned up. He had tried to call Jude’s lawyer. The man’s secretary had answered and told him that her boss had just left to meet with Jude. The knowledge made Zero feel a little less uptight. He asked for the secretary to call him as soon as Jude’s lawyer came back. 

After the call, Zero knew exactly who he wanted to speak with. Jelena was pissed when she saw him walking in without knocking, but luckily she was on the phone, so she didn’t take it out on him. 

“I don’t have time for this!” She yelled to the phone with icy stare. “No! I’m not going to find him for you! Do your dirty work by yourself. I’m hanging up now.” Jelena ended the call and turned sharply towards Zero, who had now conquered one of her chairs. “What?” She asked sharply, but it didn’t make Zero even flinch. He knew she barked a lot, but rarely bit. 

“Who was that?” Zero asked and pointed towards her phone. At first he hadn’t been interested, but when he saw how agitated the call had made her, his interest had arose. 

“Pete.” Jelena answered and sighed loudly. “He has been trying to contact you. It seems he had learned that Jude’s been arrested and that you’ve lying to him for whatever reason, I don’t care. He asked me to find you, but you can call him on your own time.” Jelena suddenly paused and narrowed her eyes. “Why are you here?”

Zero knew he was in trouble, but that was little compared to the agony Jude was in. “I want you to give the footage that we edited to the police.”

Jelena was silent for a moment. “No.” She then said sharply.

“No?” Zero hadn’t even considered the possibility that Jelena would decline his request. “Jude’s in prison for god’s sake! We’ll get him out if you just give me the tape!”

“I said no!” They both stared at each other for a while, trying to break one another down. “If we give the tape up now, we have nothing to hold over Oscar in the future and you know that.”

Zero laughed dryly. “So what? If we give the recording now, we don’t need to worry about Oscar in the future.”

Jelena bit her lower lip and shook her head in disappointment. “That’s only a small possibility. Most likely the police will see the recording is modified.”

Zero closed his eyes and cursed silently. The changes were small, but they still existed and he was willing to do anything to get Jude out as fast as possible. “Then what do you suggest?” He managed to ask, knowing that Jelena often had some plan to everything and he was pretty sure she wanted Jude out as well.

“I’ll figure something out.” Jelena said and stood up. “Maybe I’ll just drop charges, so Jude can’t be convicted.” That wasn't a solid option, since Jude had already been arrested, but it would at least make the district attorney consider the validity of Jude's arrest.

“And Oscar can do whatever he wants after that?” Zero lifted his eyebrows at her. “We have better changes if we give the recording to the police.”

Jelena seemed to think for a moment before sitting back down and opening her computer. “Fine. I’ll look it up, but I’ll be the one to give it to the police. Coming from you would be suspicious, to put it mildly.”

For once Zero agreed with her. He wasn’t in a very good terms with detective De Sario, now even less than before. Jelena typed for a moment before a deep frown appeared on her face.

“What?” Zero asked and leaned forward so he could see the screen.

“The file is gone.” Jelena said absentmindedly while typing a little more.

“Gone? You’ve deleted it?” Zero tried to turn the screen around so he could also see that it was truly gone, but Jelena quickly grab it as well, preventing his intentions.

“I should have a copy here.” She said then and opened a locked drawer. She took out a flash drive and installed it to the computer. She was silent for a moment longer before her face went pale. Zero wanted to ask what was wrong now, but he was quite sure that he already knew the answer. “It’s gone from here as well.” Jelena said eventually and leaned down to examine the drawer more thoroughly. “There’s breaking in marks.” 

“Fuck.” Zero resisted the urge to hit the table with his fists. It wouldn’t change a thing and he would get a ruined hand in progress. “So what now?”

Jelena was silent for a moment before her face lit up. “Jude also has a copy from it in his work computer.”

“That’s great, but I don’t know the password to that.” Zero remembered seeing Jude’s laptop in his apartment yesterday morning, but Jude had never told him the password for it, since he used it only to his business.

“Never mind that. I know what it is.” Jelena smiled dryly. “In case something happened to him.”

Zero nodded slowly. Then he remembered that the moving company was packing his stuff, including Jude’s computer, which would take ages to find if they managed to pack it before he got his hands on it.

“I’ll bring it to you as soon as possible.” Zero said quickly and left Jelena’s office in a hurry.

 

 

Zero parked in front of their house and jogged inside. He wasn’t going let Jude be locked up a minute longer than necessary. He had already been in his apartment, but all the furniture had already been taken. To Zero’s surprise the front door was ajar. He entered silently and closed the door behind him. The contractors weren't supposed to be there at this time and he hadn't seen the moving company's truck at the front yard either.

“Hello?” He called out cautiously, but there was no reply. He walked further in and cursed out loud, when he saw one of the moving men exit the guestroom. “You still aren’t finished?” He asked annoyed and gave the man a glare for making his imagination run. 

“We still have one load unpacked.” The man answered and walked out through the backdoor without further chatter. It looked like they had parked to the backyard since the doorway was larger.

Zero didn’t mind. He was already going through the boxes, which contained Jude’s belongings. The stuff seemed to be in different order than he remembered. After looking through three different boxes, he was beginning to believe someone else had gone through them.

“Has anyone else been here?” Zero asked as the moving man came back inside, carrying his dining room’s chairs. 

The man stopped to his tracks and looked around as if seeking support from his working colleges, but all the others were no where to be found.

“Who?” Zero lowered his voice and stepped closer to the guy. 

The man swallowed and shrugged nervously. “A man came by. He umm...” Zero resisted the urge to sigh in frustration and instead lifted his eyebrows to get the man continue. “He said he was mister Kinkade’s father. We recognized the man so we let him in. He was here only for a minute or two!” He said the last words hurriedly, as if that would make any difference.

Zero slammed the kitchen counter and bit his lower lip in frustration. From all the people, they had to let Oscar Kinkade inside the house. 

“Has something gone missing?” The man asked and lowered the chairs to the floor. “We repay it of course! It just that, he showed us his identification so…”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Just…” Zero walked towards the outdoor. “…don’t let anyone else expect me inside from now on, are we clear?” 

“Of course, sir.” The man yelled after him and Zero was glad that the man was so nervous. He had definitely deserved that. 

Zero walked outside and took the phone out of his pocket. Reporting the computer stolen wouldn’t make any difference to the state they were in. Oscar had probably gotten rid of that already, but there was a slight change he hadn’t.

Zero sat behind the wheel and lifted the phone to his ear. He waited for a moment for someone to answer. “Lionel? Meet me in half an hour. I need your help.”


	13. Empty houses

Zero had agreed on meeting Lionel in a parking lot, near Oscar’s house. They had gone through the plan swiftly, before Zero drove to Oscar’s mansion. He pulled up in front of the gates. which led to the house. A guard came to greet him and Zero asked if he could contact Oscar. He drummed the wheel nervously as the guard walked further away to contact the man. Zero wasn’t sure if Oscar was willing to meet up with him, but it was the only way to make sure the computer and the file were truly gone.

Eventually the guard returned and waved for him to drive forward before opening the gates. Zero nodded at him and steered up the hill in front of the entrance. He unbuckled his seat belt and reached towards the handle of the door, but pulled the lever of the trunk at the same time, as unnoticed as possible before getting out of the car. He locked the doors and walked in, knowing that the guard would follow his movements through the security cameras. 

As Zero had gone in, the trunk was opened fully. Lionel peeked outside and crawled from the trunk, trying to smooth down her dress at the same time. She hadn’t been pleased to hear about the plan and cursed Zero as she almost sprain her ankle when the heel of her shoe got stuck to the grass. But she had agreed on going through with this, even though they both could get in jail with Jude after the stunt, but if there was a slight change to make the opposite happen, Lionel would agree without hesitation. 

She made her way towards the side entrance which she knew was going to be open at this time, before the cleaning lady would leave. Lionel walked promptly through the kitchen and dining room. As she stepped inside the entrance hall a knock made her freeze to her place. It seemed to echo loudly through the whole house. She looked down to realize that there were no carpet on the hallway anymore. She listened for a moment if someone was coming, but it seemed she had exaggerated the noise. Quickly, she took her heels off and sneaked to the staircase and towards the second floor. She stopped to the middle of the stairs when she heard voices coming from towards Oscar’s office. She couldn’t make out what they were talking about, but it made her at ease to know that Zero was keeping the man busy. Zero had promised to give her at least twenty minutes to go through the places Oscar could’ve hidden the computer. It was most likely in Oscar’s office, locked inside the safe, but they had agreed on her looking elsewhere at first, since figuring out an excuse to get Oscar out of the office wasn’t going to be easy.

Lionel went through Oscar’s bedroom first, she looked through the walking closet, carefully placing everything back to its former place. As she expected, she didn’t find anything. Next, she searched five different guest rooms and even the bathrooms, but found nothing. After that, she realized she had already wasted that twenty minutes. Lionel walked to the top of the stairs and send a message to Zero: _not here >_. She didn’t get any reply, but she soon heard the door to Oscar’s office being opened and someone walked outside. 

“Don’t make me call the police.” She heard Oscar’s voice say.

“Go ahead.” Zero answered to him. “I’m going through this house no matter what and once I find the computer, we’ll see what the police have to say.”

Lionel realized they were coming closer to the stairs and she hid herself to the nearest room, but kept the door ajar, so she could hear what they were saying. 

The steps seemed to stop and there was a short silence before Zero’s voice could be heard again: “Or maybe I’ll find something even more incriminating.”

Lionel listened as the men walked upstairs and pass the room she was in. She let out a breathe, she had held without even realizing. As the footsteps disappeared to some other room, Lionel peeked to the corridor and when she didn’t see anyone, she quickly made her way downstairs and into the office. She closed the door behind her silently and headed to the safe deposit box. She lowered her shoes to the floor and started to insert the code. It took her a moment to open the safe but eventually it clicked. What an irony that Oscar hadn’t changed the code as she had also forgotten it when Oscar had gotten his hands on the team. Lionel listened for a moment, but couldn’t hear anything. She quickly opened the door and noticed immediately Jude’s computer lying underneath a stack of papers. 

Lionel took the computer and was about to close the safe, when curiosity took the better of her. She reached out to take few papers in her hands and read through them. To her disappointment, there was nothing interesting in them. Just some calculations and images of the arena. Voices coming from the hall, made her startle. She quickly closed the door and walked to the door, which led to the backyard. She was just about to step outside, when she remembered her high heels. Lionel tiptoed back and took the shoes before disappearing outside just in time as Oscar walked in.

Lionel rounded the house and was glad to see Zero’s car running in front of the house. The trunk was open and she slid inside, closing it behind herself. The car started to move right after and Lionel waited until it stopped, after what felt like an eternity. The trunk was opened again and she got back outside, glad to be breathing in the fresh air instead the stuffy smell of a car. 

“Did you get it?” Zero asked and smiled widely to see Lionel holding up Jude’s laptop. It was the first time Lionel saw Zero smile a real genuine smile. 

“I told you, I’d find it if it was on Oscar’s house.” Lionel said confidently, even though she had been surprised that Oscar hadn’t got rid of the computer. “You’re going to take this to Jelena?”

“Yeah, I’ll go see her right now.” Zero took the computer from her but then the smile disappeared. He seemed to ponder on something for a moment before opening his mouth and saying awkwardly: “Thanks.”

Lionel tilted her head and smiled. “You’re welcome. Although I did this for Jude, not you.”

“I know, but still. I wouldn’t have been able to get this without your help.” Zero said and they stared at each other for a moment before Lionel turned towards her car. 

“In a future, I would probably do the same for you.” She called out as she walked away. 

Zero was a little honored to get such a statement from Lionel, of all people, who had hated his guts right from the beginning. 

 

 

Zero tried to call Jelena, as he drove through the dark L.A, towards her apartment. She didn’t pick up though, but he was sure she was busy with another things. But when a unknown woman came to open the door to Jelena’s apartment, Zero was sure he had come to the wrong place. Then he saw Miguel standing behind the lady.

“Is Jelena here?” Zero asked when he turned towards the woman.

The woman blushed and shook her head, trying to hide a nervous smile from her face. “No… She had to leave to see her mother, who’s been hospitalized.”

Zero cursed and wondered what he should do next, when he realized Miguel was looking at him with wide eyes. He really wasn’t good with kids, but then he thought it wasn’t such a bad thing to a boy his age to hear some swearing. 

“Is it something urgent?” The babysitter asked and looked down at Zero’s hands, holding on to the laptop.

“Just ask her to call me if she gets in contact.” Zero said. He was sure Jelena would check up on Miguel at some point of the night. He was about to leave, when he turned around again. “You do know who I am?” He then asked. Most of the people recognized him but being with Jude had made him realize that not everyone followed basketball and recognized him where ever he went. 

The woman smiled widely. “Of course I know!” She breathed out. “I even have your autograph.”

“Really? That’s… nice.” Zero had almost started flirting with her, but then decided otherwise when an image of Jude staring at him unamused popped up to his mind. He still flirted with another people at time to time, but rarely when Jude was around, as he knew his boyfriend didn’t like it. He had started to flirt less and less with other people even when he wasn't with Jude as well. It didn’t feel the same as before for some reason.

Zero nodded at the woman before leaving.

 

 

It was the first time Zero was alone in the new house and he was supposed to live there, when all their stuff was scattered around the house in different boxes. They had agreed on going through them and decide which items to keep and which they could sell, but Zero didn’t know where to start now. For a few hours he went through some of the boxes to find dishes to eat from and sheets for sleeping. 

Zero sat on Jude’s dining table and stared at the cheap microwave dinner he had bought, but didn’t feel hungry at all. He forced a few forkfuls down before dumping the rest to the trash. It was already dark outside and since he hadn’t turned on the lights, he was able to see the beautiful view clearly. Zero remembered watching the same view when he was a kid. The window had been twenty times tinier and their old garage had covered half of the sight, but he still remembered enjoying to watch it. He had dreamed on wandering the streets alone and becoming the next best basketball player in the world and never returning here again. But here he was, at the same spot, staring out of the window. He was maybe the second-best basketball player in the world and on his way becoming the first. And he was wandering here alone, but it wasn’t a good feeling. He would’ve been so much happier if Jude was here with him, sharing the house and his career with him. A sense of emptiness filled Zero’s chest and he breathed in the fresh smell of the new house. The smell was unfamiliar and didn’t feel like home at all. Maybe he had been wrong on moving here. Maybe all that he needed was two apartments were he and Jude could decide in which one to spend their time.

Zero’s eye was caught by a large object on the corner of the living room. It was covered with plastic covers. Zero walked to it and peeled the covers aside. Jude’s red couch emerged from underneath. Zero sat down on it and breathed in the familiar scent. He closed his eyes and was about to fall asleep when his phone started to ring. He looked at the screen and frowned to see unfamiliar number. His finger was about to cancel the call but in the last minute he lifted the phone to his ear and answered.

“Hi, it’s me. I thought you weren’t going to pick up.”

“Jude!” Zero sat up in surprise and felt his heart cease in his chest when he heard Jude’s voice. “I thought you weren’t allowed to contact me.”

“I was surprised that they let me. Although, they are recording this call.” Jude sounded pissed, but at the same time glad.

“How are you?” Zero asked and leaned back on the couch. He didn't like the idea that someone was listening on their conversation, but he wasn't going to dwell on it, since he was finally able to speak with Jude.

There was a short silence before Jude answered: “Fine, all things considered. They said my arraignment will be held on Tuesday.”

Zero swallowed. The arraignment was going to be a good thing, since Jude would most likely be released for bail, but in the other hand, it could also deny the possibility of bail and Jude would be locked up for months until his trial.

“Gid… Zero?” Jude called out, making Zero return to the moment. “What have you been doing?” 

“Nothing much…” Zero then remembered Jude’s computer which he had left to the entrance. “Can you tell me the password to your work computer?”

The other line was silent again and Zero was sure the phone call had ended, until Jude spoke again. “Where do you need it?”

Zero tried to wonder a right way to tell Jude his intentions without making the police suspicious. “Jelena asked for it. She needs some financial information, which she has lost.”

“Jelena knows the password.” Jude said, clearly not wanting Zero to open the computer.

“She’s… forgotten it.” Zero lowered his voice, a little agitated that Jude didn’t trust him with it. 

“I can’t give you that.” Jude continued, this time telling the truth.

“Why not?” Zero couldn’t help his voice rising a little.

“Because I know why Jelena needs it and I can give it to her later.” Jude sounded like he was going to snap at any moment and Zero wasn’t going to keep on pushing him. It would make the police suspicious and Jude even more stressed out. He clearly knew what Zero was looking for and for some reason wasn’t willing to let him frame Oscar.

“Okay.” Zero agreed on Jude’s decision, even though he would’ve wanted nothing more than to get Jude out of there as fast as possible.

“I have to go soon.” Jude sounded suddenly very tired and disappointed.

“When can you call again?” Zero asked hurriedly, wanting desperately to know when they could talk again.

“Tomorrow.” Jude answered and they both felt a little light-hearted because of that knowledge. 

“I miss you.” Zero confessed as he laid down on the couch, closing his eyes and waiting to hear Jude’s voice again.

“I miss you too.” Jude finally answered and Zero could almost see the smile on his face. “Goodnight.”

“Night…” Zero waited until he heard the phone click before dropping it to the couch. He stared at the ceiling for a moment longer until he fell asleep.


	14. Team

The next day Zero had no other choice, but to go to practice. He would’ve rather stayed by his phone, in case Jelena or Jude tried to contact him, but he knew there was no chance that Pete would believe him if he told him that he was sick again. And as he had expected, once he arrived to the arena, Pete dragged him to his office and started scolding him.

“Could you tell me exactly why you haven’t been at practice AND our last game?” Pete wasn’t shouting, but his voice was firm and it was clear he didn’t need any bullshit from Zero.

Zero shifted uncomfortably at his feet and looked towards the door, as if figuring out a way to escape the situation. “I had other things to take care…”

“I don’t care!” Pete yelled before he could even finish his sentence. “I wouldn’t have minded if you’d told me the truth right from the start. But when you start pulling my leg with lies, I start wondering if it was a good idea to promote you as the captain. Because I need to trust the team’s captain, no matter what!”

The discomfort look on Zero’s face was replaced by horror as he stared at Pete with wide eyes. “Don’t tell me you suspended me from…”

“No.” Pete answered firmly and Zero breathed out in relief. “But the next time, I won’t think twice about it. Do you understand?” 

Zero looked Pete straight to his eyes and nodded slowly. The last thing he had needed was to get a lecture from his coach, but he understood where Pete was coming from. He was about to turn around and head towards the locker rooms, when Pete called after him:

“Zero, I know you’re going through a rough time, but I also know working will help you clear your thoughts. You won’t be any help to Jude, if you just stay home and curse the world.” Pete spoke a little more softly this time.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll be around from now on.” Zero promised before walking out. 

 

 

“Hi, guys.” Zero said as he walked to the court, where everyone else already were. “So what happened?” The Devils had lost their last game and Zero hadn’t even watched it from TV, which made him quite oblivious of what had gone wrong, but he wasn’t going to humiliate himself as much to confess something like that. 

“What? You didn’t watch the game?” The new guy, Jake, asked like he was able to read his mind, but it didn’t face Zero.

“Of course, I did.” He said without hesitation. “I just wanted you to tell me what went wrong from your opinion.” 

The team members looked at each other, no one wanting to step up and tell his point of view.

“Fuck this…” Zero muttered to himself. “So none of you have the balls to tell me why you lost? There must’ve been something, since we lost with over twenty points.”

“Don’t tell me you expect us to say that we lost just because you weren’t there.” Zero turned to face Jake, who had now walked a little closer, staring at him, as if challenging him to a fight.

Zero was just about to open his mouth and yell at the little punk, when Pete walked in. “Alright, boys! Thirty laps and push ups! Now!” He shouted the last word to Zero and Jake, who were still staring each other, while rest of the team were already doing as they were told.

Jake narrowed his eyes before breaking their eye contact and running after the others. 

 

 

After the rehearsal, Zero made his way through the corridors towards the exit. He passed Pete’s office and couldn’t help hearing him argue with Sloane.

“You? I can’t believe it!” Pete was yelling. Zero reduced his speed unconsciously. 

“I did it because of Ahsha and I thought it was already over, but now… I don’t know what to do.” Sloane sounded desperate and the pair went silent after that.

Zero thought about continuing his way, but decided otherwise and knocked on Pete’s door. There was a short silence before Sloane walked to open the door.

“Hi,” Zero smiled dryly at her and noticed right away how pale they both were, like they had just seen a ghost. He would’ve liked to ask what they had been talking about, but knew they weren’t going to tell him. “Pete, can I have a word?” He turned towards Pete, who nodded at him after glancing towards Sloane. 

“I guess I won’t be needed.” Sloane said nervously and walked pass Zero.

“I can’t see why you would even ask…” Zero called after her and resisted the urge to smile when Sloane stopped at the doorway, before keeping on walking. 

“What do you want?” Pete sounded less angry with him this time and it made Zero wonder why he had calmed down so much. Maybe the torture he had made the team go through had released his anger.

“I just wanted to ask about the new guy: how’s been doing?” Zero lowered his bag to one of Pete’s chairs and leaned against it.

“His name’s Jake.” Pete added, looking at him sternly, like Zero had done something incredibly wrong without calling the boy by his name. “He’s done pretty well, especially in the last game, when everyone else seemed to be at loss. Maybe it was just because of your absence that made them uncertain.”

“Great.” Zero said smoothly and patted the backrest of the chair. He picked up his bag and turned to leave. “See you tomorrow then.”

 

 

Since Jelena still hadn’t contacted him, Zero decided to call to Kyle. She answered pretty quickly and was clearly surprised to hear from him. 

“I thought you were still angry with me.” Kyle blurted out when she answered, but she didn't sound happy about his call.

“What?” Zero had to thought for a moment before he understood what she was talking about. “Yeah, no, I’m not angry. Look, I need to get in contact with Jelena, but she’s not answering her phone.”

“Oh, she went to see her mother to New York. It seems she had some kind of seizure.” Kyle spoke quickly like she always used to do. “I don’t think she's going to contact anyone for a while. Her babysitter brought Miguel to me this morning, since she can’t return until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Typical…” Zero muttered.

“What?” Kyle asked loudly.

“Nothing. Just, tell her to call me as soon as she’s able to.” Zero said and hang up. He knew Jelena wasn’t going to give the password to him, but he was going to try. He hoped that Jude’s arraignment would go well and that he wouldn’t need the recording before that.

 

 

The following day Zero was unable to concentrate on playing. Jude hadn’t called him last night, but his lawyer did, telling him that the arraignment would be held on afternoon. As much as he wanted to focus on the rehearsal and their home game tomorrow, Zero kept thinking what to wear and what time he should leave so that he wouldn’t be late. He expected to get another lecture from Pete after they headed back towards the locker room, but their coach only patted him to a shoulder and didn’t say a word. 

After returning to the house, Zero realized, to his horror, that he had no idea where all his suits were. He went through every box and suitcase to find something decent to wear. At one point he thought, that he found his suit, but realized it belonged to Jude, after he tried it on. Eventually he managed to gather some pieces of his own suits and put it on with Jude’s tie, since he couldn’t find his anywhere.

Zero glanced his clock and quickly collected his phone and keys to get on going. He was already late from his schedule. Just when he stepped outside, his phone started to ring in his pocket. He didn’t know if he should be glad or not when he saw that the caller was Jelena. He knew he didn’t have much time to talk with her at the moment, but if he didn’t answer, who knows when he could get in touch with her again.

“Kyle said you needed to speak with me.” Jelena’s harsh voice, didn’t surprise Zero. He hadn’t expected her to greet him more merrily. 

“Long story short: I need the password to Jude’s computer.” Zero said and was about to close the door behind him, when he suddenly turned around and returned inside. 

“I said I’m not giving it to you. I’ll open the computer when I get back.” Jelena insisted and Zero was able to hear her honk to someone. 

“But I need it now! Jude’s arraignment will be held today and where the hell are you anyway?” Zero took the laptop from the entrance and headed towards his car again.

“Today? For god’s sake!” Jelena cursed and was a silent for a moment. “I’m in Colorado.” She finally answered.

“Colorado?” Zero echoed and his hand stopped when he was about to reach for the car’s handle. “Seriously?”

“I got a call from New York’s hospital the other day. They told me mother was hospitalized and it didn’t look good.” Jelena sounded extremely pissed off. “So I had no choice but to leave. All the planes were booked up, however, so I had to take my car. Which was a really bad choice. I got all the way to Denver, when I got a call from my mother, who was in Canary, sunbathing.”

They both seemed to know who had called Jelena and made her leave the state to stir things up. 

“Of course…” Zero muttered and started the car. “Oscar stole the computer. I got it back, but since I don’t have the freaking password, I haven’t been able to check, if the file’s still there.”

“Knowing Jude, he must’ve secured the file pretty well.” Jelena sighed. “But why would Oscar keep the computer?”

“Maybe he thought he could find something else in there, about the Devils.” Zero reasoned. He hoped Oscar hadn’t been able to open the computer.

There was a short silence again, before Jelena finally gave in: “Okay, the password is: _the team_.”

“What?” Zero had never thought Jude would’ve picked just an odd word for his password. He opened the computer to the seat next to him and wrote it to the opening screen. But when he pressed enter, nothing happened. “It says, it’s wrong.”

“But that’s what Jude told me.” Jelena sounded like she was ready to tear something apart. “Try something else.”

“Like what?” Zero asked, he had no idea what the password could be.

“I don’t know! Try the Devils.” Jelena shouted to the phone. They sounded like an old marriage couple, which wasn’t a good thing.

“Okay.” Zero was sure Jude wouldn’t have used such an obvious password. He still wrote it to the field, but it was incorrect as well. “Not working.” He informed to Jelena, who growled in frustration. 

“The team…” Zero mulled over the word. He wrote _‘zero’_ to it, but nothing happened. Then he tried _‘team zero’_ , but it was also incorrect. He was ready to throw the damn computer out to the pavement, when he decided to try one more time. Slowly he wrote _‘team gideon’_ on it and pressed enter. The computer loaded for a while, but eventually it approved the password. “I got it open!” Zero felt like he had just scored a winning point.

“What was it?” Jelena asked, not sounding as thrilled. 

“Umm… It doesn’t matter.” Zero knew the name wouldn’t say anything to Jelena, but he still thought it was something only he and Jude should know. But he still wondered why Jude would’ve said Jelena knew the password, when he had given her the wrong one or more likely a hint. “Look, I have no time to go through all the files in here, so I’ll do it later. See you, when you get back.”

“Right, I’ll try to be there today.” Jelena answered before hanging up. 

Zero closed the computer for the moment and started to drive towards the courthouse. He would probably be able to go through it before the arraignment started, but right at the moment, he wanted to be sure he could at least make it there in time.


	15. Connections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reward for your patience with this story, I post a longer chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Zero arrived to the courthouse earlier than he expected. He looked around to see where the arraignment was supposed to be held, when he saw Jude’s lawyer standing a short distance away in the hallway. Zero made his way to him and introduced himself. He had seen the guy once before, but he wasn’t sure if the man still recognized him. 

“Sam Adams, but we’ve met before, haven’t we?” Zero nodded at the man’s question. It seems he had a good memory. “I’m glad I was able to meet you before the arraignment.” Sam continued and gestured for Zero to sit down to the nearest bench. 

Zero took the seat and placed Jude’s computer next to him. Sam sat down as well. 

“As I’ve talked with Jude, we are going to blead for not guilty. He said you can be informed about our conversations.” Sam said after looking curiously at the computer Zero had brought with him. “I’m absolutely sure that the judge will set bail and we hope you’re able to pay it. If so, Jude’s able to leave after he signs some papers at the police station.”

“Good.” Zero said simply and rubbed his palms together. He hadn’t been nervous before, but after sitting down, he suddenly started to feel antsy, as if he was going to an important game. He had high hopes that Jude was going to get out. It wasn’t going to be a long time, but at least he wouldn’t have to wait for the trial in a prison cell. 

“Is that Jude’s computer?” Sam suddenly asked and pointed towards the seat next to Zero’s.

Zero looked at the computer and wondered if he should tell Sam that. “How do you know?” He then decided to ask. It seems Sam already knew who’s computer he was carrying with him.

“Jude said you’ve been asking about it, so I just assumed. Do you need it or shall I take it to Jude?” Sam smiled kindly and offered his hand for Zero to give the computer.

Zero wanted to hand the computer to Sam so he could take it to Jude, but he still hadn’t checked if it still contained the video about Oscar. “I think I should hold on to that in case Jelena needs it for work.” He said then, which made Sam look a little disappointed.

“That’s fine.” He still said and stood up. “Just remember that you’re not allowed to take that inside. I’ll be going to meet with Jude before we have to start. See you later.”

“See you.” Zero watched the man disappear behind the corner before quickly placing the computer to his lap and opening it. He checked his watch and was relieved that their conversation hadn’t lasted any longer. He still had enough time to look through Jude’s files and take the computer back to his car. 

Jude had arranged and labeled all the files clearly, which made it easy for Zero to find what he was looking for. It seemed Oscar hadn’t had time to get the computer open and delete the video. Zero smiled widely when he watched the recording. It was very well done. Jude clearly knew the right people to do things like that. 

For a moment, he wondered what he should do with it. He knew he had to copy the file somewhere safe, since there was a high possibility that Oscar already knew who had the computer. Eventually he settled on sending the file to Jelena’s email. Just when he pressed send, the connection started to break down and it seemed it would take several minutes before it was done. Zero checked the time again and rubbed his eyes. Only ten minutes before the arraignment was about to start. 

“I’ll be taking that.” A man had walked in front of him and slammed the laptop’s cover shut.

Zero looked up to see detective De Sario standing before him. The man took the computer from his lap and patted it almost fondly. “I was right to think that there’s something important in here, based on your expression.” De Sario said and Zero hated the way he was looking at him, like he knew everything, even though he knew nothing at all. “I thought it was odd for you to ask about Jude’s computer when he called you. In the end, it was your only conversation after couple of days.”

Zero laughed dryly. “Yeah, I should’ve known you were the one eavesdropping our talk.” 

De Sario only smiled at him. “See you in a minute.” He said and started to walk towards the exit. 

Zero stared after him, feeling stupid (in a bad way) for not being more careful while talking with Jude. But his call had been so sudden that he hadn’t had any time to think what to say or how to phrase his words. Then he realized that it was actually a good thing that the detective now had possession over the computer. They would find the video which would make them realize it was Oscar who had shot Jelena and it would also be safe from Oscar’s grasp. 

Zero took his phone and called Jelena. “I found the file.” He said immediately after she answered.

“That’s great.” Jelena said as dully as ever. “Did you take a copy of it?” 

“I tried to send it to your email, but I’m not sure if it went through. De Sario stole the laptop from me before I was able to be sure.” Zero answered and looked after the detective. He saw the man nearing the exit. Someone walked in from the front entrance, but the sun shining from behind him, made it impossible for Zero to recognize who it was. The person didn’t interest him at first, but when he was close to De Sario, he lifted his hand and a loud gunshot echoed in the hallway. Zero jumped up from his seat to see De Sario fall to his back and that unknown person crouch next to him. All the people in the hall started to scream and run around, blocking his view to the shooter. 

“I found it, but what the hell is going on in there?” Jelena asked in the other end of the line, sounding now alarmed. “Zero!”

“De Sario was shot.” With that Zero ended the call and headed towards the exit. Zero walked as fast as he was able to, but it seemed everyone seemed to run towards him in panic, slowing him down.

“Call the guards! He ran out!” A woman’s voice shouted near him, but no one seemed to listen to her.

Zero increased his pace and almost pushed through the people until he was able to see the scene of the crime. De Sario was lying on his back in a puddle of blood. Zero crouched next to him and shook him a little, but the detective only fluttered his eyelashes. Zero looked around the floor but the computer was nowhere in sight. The shooter must’ve taken it. 

Paramedics ran inside the courthouse and shooed Zero away from De Sario. He stood up without protesting and watched as he was bandaged and carried away. 

Everything was in a chaos for a moment longer before police officers managed to calm things down. Zero talked with them for a moment to let them know what had happened, but he wasn’t much of a help with finding the culprit, since he couldn’t describe what the guy had looked like. He hoped someone else had managed to see him properly, but the culprit was probably one of Oscar’s men, so it was likely that the police would not find him.

He was released from any more questioning for the moment and he was able to go find the room Jude’s arraignment was supposed be held. The door was already open and Zero felt a mix of relief and warmth go through his body when he saw Jude sit next to Sam at the front of the line of benches. Jude turned around to look at the door as he heard him enter, but he didn’t look happy to see him and looked annoyed instead. 

“What?” Zero asked as he walked to sit behind him. This close, he was able to see that Jude was unnaturally pale. At first, he thought it was just because he hadn’t been able to see the sun for a few days, but when Jude started talking, Zero understood.

“I heard a man had been shot at the entrance and when you didn’t come in right away when the doors were opened…” Jude trailed off, not wanting to say out loud what he had thought, but it made Zero smile to know that Jude had worried about him so much. Then Jude turned around in his bench and opened his hands. Zero leaned over to give Jude a brief hug just when the judge came in.

“It was De Sario.” Zero whispered to Jude’s ear before returning back to his seat. 

“What?” Jude asked, shocked. 

“I’ll explain to you later.” Zero swore. Jude nodded at him and turned to face the judge.

The arraignment started with the judge’s opening speech, in which she went through the incident from the day Jelena was shot to this day. She paused only for a moment when Lionel entered the room, fashionably late. She didn’t say a thing, but only glared at Lionel until she sat beside Zero, after briefly squeezing Jude’s shoulder.

“How do you plead?” The judge finally asked and turned her gaze towards Jude and his lawyer.

Sam stood up and buttoned his suit jacket. “We plead: not guilty, your honor.” He said with a clear voice.

“Very well.” The judge said and after a moment of silence continued: “It came to my knowledge that detective De Sario, who’s been investigation this case, was shot in this courthouse’s entrance hall just before we started.” She paused for a moment and looked at Jude sharply. Jude didn’t know if he should stare back at her or avoid her gaze. It was clear she was more interested about his reaction to the news and Zero realized it was a mistake to tell Jude what had happened, since now he couldn’t react naturally.

“We haven’t got any news about his condition yet, but as long as he’s not able to give his report, I’m afraid I won’t be able to do a full review about this case.” The judge continued and started to read her papers. “I do have a report written by him and I’ll hear both the defender and prosecutor before making any decisions. But before that, I have a question for the defendant: is your father Oscar Kinkade?” 

Zero saw Jude tense and then forcing himself to relax. “Yes, he is.” He then answered and Zero knew he didn’t say that pleasantly anymore. 

The judge nodded and Zero started to mull over her name in his mind. He had heard it before and quite recently as well. He was quite sure she had been the judge on Oscar’s trial. Zero wasn’t sure if that was going to be good for them or give them more trouble. When Jelena gives the video to the police, it would most certainly benefit them. 

Sam’s speech was fist. He told the same things he and Jude had told in the investigations: Jude had an alibi, he had aided Sloane to get help for Jelena and he had nothing to do with Oscar anymore. Zero wasn't completely satisfied about his enthusiasm while he spoke, but he was one of the top lawyers in L.A., so he shouldn’t’ really complain. After him, the prosecutor started to speak about how inconsistent Jude’s testimonies have been and how he had arranged his escape from the country.

“Thank you both.” The judge said and went silent for a moment. Both Jude and Zero held their breaths while she was thinking. It felt like forever until she finally opened her mouth. “The defendant has been co-operative with the police right from the beginning. But as the detective’s report give away: the testimonies have been inconsistent compared to each other and the person who verified the alibi, had lied to the police. And then there’s the flight to Italy, which clearly indicates that the defendant tried to leave the country and no evidence has been found, which proves otherwise. Furthermore, the defendant has connections to Oscar Kinkade, whose been suspected of murder, fraud and knows to have connections to the criminal underworld.”

Zero felt a chill go down his spine as he listened the judge speak. But she must give Jude a change for bail, because that’s what Sam had promised them and the police had no solid evidence against him. 

“Since detective De Sario’s shooting clearly wasn’t an accident, I have no other choice, but to prevent any change for bail.” 

“Objection!” Sam stood up to protests, but the judge gave him a hard stare.

“Objection overruled. Now, sit down mister Adams.” The judge said firmly and Sam had no other choice but to obey her. “The defendant, Jude Kinkade, is taken to the Los Angeles police department in which he’ll be held for further questioning and until his trial.”

Before anyone could say anything, the judge hit the table with the hammer and stood up to leave. Zero couldn’t do anything but to stare at Jude’s neck. He had promised himself that he wasn’t going to get hopeful, so if the arraignment would come to this, he wouldn’t feel so bad. But he had started to think how wonderful it would be when Jude would get home, but now he wasn’t coming. 

Sam stood up and patted Jude to his shoulder. He said something to him, but Zero couldn’t hear him. Jude turned to smile at his lawyer and stood up as well. They locked eyes with each other and it seemed they both were as shocked. Jude quickly rounded the row of seats and sat down beside Zero.

“Sam said you can come visit me now.” Jude tried to sound calm, but his voice was shaking. 

"Is that supposed to console us?" Lionel huffed in frustration. She glared at the judge, who was gathering her papers, clearly wanting to share a couple of words with her.

“But you can’t get out.” Zero was so frustrated that it was nearly impossible to hide it, so he bit his lower lip and looked away from Jude. Looking at him made his feeling rumble even more and he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hold it all in.

“It’s only a week.” Jude took Zero’s hand and squeezed lightly. They both know it would be even more after the trial, unless something miraculous would happen, but it was left unsaid. 

“I’ll come first thing tomorrow.” Zero promised and faced Jude again.

“But you have a game in Boston.” Zero couldn’t help but smile to Jude’s comment. Even when he hadn’t been his agent for a year and had been isolated from the rest of the world for days, Jude still knew where and when the Devils were supposed to be and made sure Zero was there with the others.

“I’m not sure I want to go.” Zero answered truthfully and he saw immediately that Jude didn’t approve. 

Jude sighed in frustration and shook his head. “Of course you’re going. I won’t let you throw away your career just so you could visit me for fifteen minutes in a prison. Besides, I want to see you play.” Jude smiled and nudged their shoulders together.

“Fine.” Zero agreed hesitantly. 

"I'll visit you instead." Lionel promised to Jude, who smiled to his friend gratefully. Zero felt a little better too, to know that Jude didn't have to spend the whole day alone in a tiny cell.

“Jude, it’s time to go.” Sam had emerged beside them and nodded towards the exit, where two police officers were waiting.

Jude smiled tightly and turned towards Zero once more. “See after the game.” He said then and was about to stand up when Zero captured his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. 

“You better be watching.” Zero whispered against Jude’s lips when they broke the kiss. Zero traced Jude’s cheek with his thumb and for a moment, they just stared each other in the eyes. Then Jude took hold of Zero’s hand and gently pulled it away from his face. 

“I will.” He promised and turned to leave, their hands departing last.


	16. Priority

After Jude's arraignment, Zero decided to focus only to the upcoming games. The next two days would be hard for the whole team and Zero knew he needed to give his all to keep them fighting for the ring. That’s what Jude and Jelena had done after the arena had burned down. They had done their all to keep the team up and running. So Zero had to do his best to continue Jude’s work.

Zero watched the last game from his laptop. He replayed it two times, slowing the footage down every now and then, just so he could examine everyone on the team separately. He knew Pete would've already spotted the same things he had, but as a captain, he had to be up-to-date with everything. When he was done, he headed to the arena to talk with Pete. They talked about the upcoming game for over an hour. Zero was glad that they agreed on almost every change in their game tactics. After their conversation headed to their warm up. 

“Otis! Remember to watch the side. You concentrate too much to where the ball is going, so you forget to watch where the opponent is.” He had made to his mission to be a captain this time and give everyone something to concentrate on like Pete had advised him to. “Jake, you’re good at shooting, but you could create much more situations under the basket, if you’d just remembered to pass the ball to others.”

Jake had been doing stretches as Zero said that. At first he had glared at him and then decided to ignore him completely. But when Pete walked pass him, he even smiled and nodded at Zero. _Fucking ass-kisser_ , Zero thought as he went to give feedback to others.

“We’ve been through a lot, but I know you can win this.” Zero patted everyone to back as they made their way towards the locker room again to prepare themselves for the game.

Zero knew he wasn’t in the best of shape at the moment, but he knew he could manage because of his skill of reading the game. And he was right about it too, but the game had still been a pain. Everyone seemed to be a little hesitant and lose the ball in situations, the ball shouldn't be lost in NBA. Pete didn’t like it at all, but they had still won, barely, but still won and that’s what they needed right now. A little booze of confidence did them all good and Zero was sure the next game would go much better.

 

The next morning Zero got a call from the police department. At first, he thought it had something to do with Jude, but it turned out that they wanted him to visit the hospital. Zero had protested at first. He hated hospitals and the last thing he wanted to do was to go there to see a man he hated. But the woman who spoke with him, didn’t take no for an answer. So Zero had to go, even though his flight was about to leave in an hour. He hoped it wouldn’t take long, since the last thing he wanted was to get to Pete’s bad side again and get more reason for Jake to pick up a fight with him.

Zero headed towards detective De Sario’s room after asking directions from the staff. As he approached the room, the door was opened and Jelena walked out. 

At first she didn’t notice him and almost passed him without looking to his direction. She startled when Zero spoke to her: “What are you doing here?”

Jelena stopped to her tracks and looked back towards the room. “I… De Sario wanted to talk with me about the case.” She said quite smoothly after a little hesitation.

Zero suspected that there was something more to that. “Did you show him the video?” 

“No… not yet.” Jelena finally met Zero’s eyes and she looked somehow hesitant, which made Zero’s stomach turn uncomfortably. Then she sighed in frustration. “The video was lost.” She finally admitted and Zero felt his stomach drop.

“Lost? What do you mean lost?” He asked and folded his arms.

“The email came through, but the file was damaged for some reason.” Jelena explained and Zero saw that she was frustrated as well. “I’ll try to figure out a way out of this mess. I doubt the judge’s going to drop the charges against Jude, now that De Sario was shot.”

“God dammit…” Zero muttered and looked away from her towards the detective’s room and chewed his bottom lip. Their time was running out; Jude’s trial was only six days away.

“I need to go.” Jelena said before Zero could ask more questions and she hurriedly walked away. 

Zero looked after her for a moment before turning to walk inside De Sario’s room. The detective was lying on his back and reading some papers. He looked up, when he heard Zero enter the room and hid the papers to a nearest bag.

“Zero! Glad you could make it. Sit down.” De Sario greeted him blankly and pointed towards a chair next to his bed.

Zero looked at the seat warily, not wanting to sit so close to the man, when he knew that he liked to study people’s expressions. Still he sat down, but leaned back against the rest, to be as far away as possible.

“I don’t have much time before the doctor comes to investigate me and I know your plain is leaving soon as well.” De Sario paused for a moment and Zero only nodded at him, wanting nothing more than to get to the point. “So, I wanted to ask: what was so important in that computer?” 

Zero frowned. “Nothing.” He said slowly. It wasn’t a lie, since there was nothing in it anymore. 

De Sario laughed and shook his head. “So you’d kill someone over it just for fun?” 

Zero’s pressed his lips together, not knowing what to say to De Sario’s claim. “You think I would pay someone to shoot you, when I didn’t even know you were planning to take the computer away from me?” He finally said and glared at the detective, challenging his idiotic suspicions.

“I don’t know. Did you?” De Sario asked without a blink of an eye. “I’ve been examining the connections Oscar Kinkade has and I also know you visited his house the same day Jude called you.”

“So?” Zero was getting frustrated. He didn’t have time or the energy to go through these questions. “I’ve thought right from the start… no, I’ve known, that it was Oscar who tried to kill Jelena, but since he’s slippery as fuck, I know you’d never catch him. I went there to threaten him.”

“Threaten? With what?” De Sario leaned forward, but soon grimaced in pain when his wound protested the movement. 

“That’s none of your business.” Zero said and stood up. “Was that all?” 

“Yeah…” De Sario huffed and looked like he was still in pain.

Zero was about to walk to the door, but then leaned towards De Sario to press the nurse call button for him. He saw how the detective tensed when he approached him and realized that he truly thought that he was the one to order his assassination. The man was scared of him. After he pressed the button, he walked out without looking back.

 

 

Jude was surprised to hear that he had a visitor. At first he had thought it was Zero, but he was supposed to be in Boston. Then he had remembered that Lionel had promised to visit him, but it wasn’t his best friend who walked inside his cell, but Jelena instead. 

“Hi.” Jelena said as she walked in, amused to see Jude’s stunned expression. “You didn’t think I would visit you?” She stopped to stand in the middle of the tiny cell, looking quite awkward.

Jude smiled then and shook his head a little. “No, that’s not it. I was expecting Lionel to come.”

"You're allowed for only one visitor per day. Lionel was... kind enough to give me her visit time." Jelena explained. 

“I hope you understand, Mam, that we can’t leave you alone with him.” The officer, who had let Jelena in, said from the doorway and eyed Jude suspiciously. 

Jelena rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance. “I already signed the papers that I want to visit Jude. What more do you want? Do you really believe he’s stupid enough to kill me in his own cell?” 

The officer looked awkwardly between the two, before turning around and closing the door behind him.

“Finally, some peace.” Jelena huffed and turned towards Jude. Her expression turned from dull to distress. “I assume that the officers has told you that De Sario’s shooter took your computer?”

Jude nodded and smiled tightly. “Yeah, they told me. I hoped you had a copy of the file somewhere.”

Jelena eyed the cell warily before answering: “Zero send a copy to my email, just before De Sario took the laptop from him. But…” She went silent for a moment. “…I can’t give it to the police.”

Jude frowned, but didn’t say a thing. He trusted that Jelena had a reason for her refusal. 

“A little after it was stolen... someone send me an email from Zero’s address.” Jelena’s voice started to shake a little and Jude felt his stomach twist. He had never seen the woman scared before. “It said that if I don’t delete the video right away, they’ll kill Miguel.”

Jude sighed and rubbed his face. 

“They even told the school's name he's in. You think Oscar’s capable of doing something like that?” Jelena asked then.

“I don’t know.” Jude said honestly. He had no idea what Oscar was capable of in these days. “But I don’t want you to take any risks. You have to take Miguel to somewhere safe. He comes first above everything else.”

Jelena nodded firmly in agreement. “I thought of sending him to my mother in Canary. She’ll stay there at least to the end of the month.”

Jude shook his head. “No. He needs to be taken somewhere no one could expect.”

“Like where?” Jelena started to get nervous. Every minute she spent there was too much. “I shouldn’t even be here. Oscar could suspect that I’m here to give the video to the police.”

“I know someone, who can take Miguel to a safe place.” Jude looked around, but didn’t see Jelena’s purse. Of course, she had to leave it to the front desk. “I’d give you the number, but you can’t write it down. Talk to Zero, he knows who I’m talking about and should be able to give you his contact information.”

“He’s trustworthy?” Jelena asked, doubtful. 

“I’d trust him with my life.” Jude promised.

“Thank you, for understanding.” Jelena leaned forward and squeezed Jude’s hand. “I’ll come visit you when it’s done.”

Jude nodded and watched as Jelena was escorted outside and he was isolated to his own thoughts again.


	17. Inside four walls

Zero had thought that he had played well, but as a team, they had sucked. They had lost badly, so it was no surprise that they were all silent throughout the whole flight back to L.A. Zero had read about different court cases and loopholes in the law in chance to get Jude out. But he had a hard time understanding all the legal vocabulary. He had even talked with Jude’s lawyer through email, to get some answers, but it seemed the only thing they could do was to wait for Jude’s trial. 

The first thing Zero did after getting back was to get a shower, change his clothes and then visit Jude at the police station. He had to sign punch of papers just to get inside his cell. He waited nervously as the officer tried to find the right key to the cell’s door. It seemed to take forever until he finally opened the door and gestured for him to go inside. 

Zero walked straight to Jude and pulled him to a tight hug. He heard the door being closed behind him and let go of Jude just enough to press their lips together. Jude placed his hands gently to the both side of Zero’s face to pull him even closer. They stayed like that for so long, that Zero was sure that the police officer would soon come to pick him up when the visiting time would run out. He reluctantly pulled away. Jude tried to follow him to keep their lips together, but Zero’s pressed their foreheads together to stop him and smiled when he saw the disappointed look on Jude’s face.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed this… and you.” Zero whispered and gave a light peck to the corner of Jude’s mouth. “But I thought that we were going to talk as well.” 

Jude gazed at his eyes for a moment longer before taking a step back and sitting on the side of his so-called bed. Zero sat next to him, close enough so their shoulders brush together. 

“What happened?” Jude asked then and stared at Zero.

“What do you mean?” Zero frowned and turned his face to look back at him. He had no idea what Jude was talking about.

“In the game?” Jude tilted his head and smiled widely, as if it was obvious to be talking about a basketball game than the upcoming trial. “You lost.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” Zero shook his head a little. “I don’t want to talk about the game. Let’s talk about you instead.” He took Jude’s hand to his.

“Me? Then this conversation’s going to be pretty short, because nothing has happened here.” Jude answered and leaned half against the wall and half against Zero.

“Have you talked to Sam about the trial?” Zero inquired. 

“He came by yesterday.” Jude said and Zero could feel his body tense. “He was disappointed that we couldn’t get a bail for me, but he’s confident that the trial will go well.”

Zero nodded, but looked doubtful. “I don’t know if we should trust the guy.”

“Why not? He’s only one of the best lawyers in L.A.” Jude smiled, amused.

Zero shrugged and smiled back at him. “He better get you freed, since if he don’t, he’ll have to answer to me.”

Jude laughed, which made Zero’s chest lighten. “I’m sure he wouldn’t want that.”

Zero hummed in agreement. He turned his head slightly so he was able to bury his face to Jude’s hair and breathed in the familiar scent. Just then, the cell’s door was opened and the officer glared at them from the doorway.

“The visiting time is up.” He called and stepped aside to give Zero enough room to pass.

Zero saw Jude’s jaw tighten as he sat up and looked at him sadly.

“Love you.” Zero whispered almost silently and gave Jude a light kiss, before standing up and walking out of the door. He couldn’t imagine how lonely and distressing it was for Jude to be locked inside that tiny cell for another four days.

 

 

Zero hadn’t expected for Jelena to contact him the same day. Her phone call was short and the only thing she said was that she needed a phone number from him. Zero had tried to ask whose number and for what purpose, but she had only said he should ask about it from Jude. This happened only short before their game was about to start, which mildly affected his concentration. Jelena had seemed nervous and almost scared. Zero feared what was going on. Needless to say, that they lost the game. It was against one of their biggest rival as well.

After their catastrophic game, Zero was mad to Jelena. She knew very well when the game had started and how important their home game was to them. So the next day, he wasn’t in a good mood, when he entered the police station and left his ID to the front desk. 

Jude had to take only one look at him to know what mood he was in. So instead of a happy smile and kiss, he sat back down to his bed and looked patiently at his boyfriend, waiting for him to tell what was wrong.

Zero stopped to stand to the middle of the room, until the officer closed the door behind him. Then he locked eye contact with Jude and let out a breath he had been holding. Jude could see him relax and the hard stare he had when he had walked in, was replaced by a soft and loving look. It confirmed to Jude that the anger Gideon felt wasn’t directed towards him. 

“Jelena called me yesterday.” Zero finally opened his mouth and sat beside Jude. He reached out to touch the side of Jude’s face and caressed Jude’s cheek with his thumb, before slowly leaning forward and kissing his lips. He didn’t fail to notice how tired and pale Jude looked, but didn’t say anything about it. Jude must’ve realized it himself. 

After the kiss, Jude smiled briefly and nodded. “I had a feeling she was the cause of your bad mood.” 

“I haven’t slept at all last night.” Zero said and for a moment considered to just lay down here and put his head to Jude’s lap. He knew he would’ve fallen asleep in a second if he did that, but since he knew there was a surveillance camera in the cell and he didn’t want to waste their time together sleeping, he decided to lean against the cold wall behind them. “I kept on thinking the way she asked about the number…” Zero eyed Jude carefully. “…which you clearly know what I’m talking about.”

“I do.” Jude confessed and lifted his other leg to the bed, so he could face Gideon properly. “She came to see me two days ago, but I didn’t want to say anything to you, in case she changed her mind.”

“About what?” Zero frowned and his lips parted a little as he waited for Jude’s answer.

Jude resisted the urge to lean down and kiss him and instead looked down to his hands to think of a best way to explain this all to him, so he wouldn’t lose his nerve. “She came here to tell me that Oscar had been blackmailing her, through your email.”

Zero sat up again and opened his mouth to question that possibility, when he remembered how Oscar had been able to get hold of his email account.

“Or not exactly her.” Jude paused for a moment and rubbed his hands together nervously. “But Miguel. He said that if Jelena didn’t delete the video that we made, Miguel would be in danger.”

“So she deleted it? Or that’s what she told me… not straight like that, but she said that the video was lost.” Zero paused and seemed to think for a moment. “But so what? The video is gone and Miguel is no longer in danger.”

“Sort of…” Jude shrugged. “We thought it would be best if she was able to send him somewhere safe. So, Oscar can’t alter what she says to the police through Miguel. It would be best.”

“And that’s why she needs the number of that guy…” Zero tried to search his memory for the guy’s name, who was able to help people with that sort of situations.

“Exactly him.” Jude only said, not wanting to say the man’s name out loud in case their conversation was listened. He didn’t suspect that, but one couldn’t be too careful. “So you’ll give the number. It’ll most likely take few days before they can actually hide Miguel.”

Jude had been surprised of how calmly Gideon dealt with the matter, but once he said the time span they were working on, Zero’s eyes shot up at him. “Few days? But she can still testify on your trial, right? Oscar didn’t forbid her to do that?”

“Not exactly, but we can’t take any changes once Miguel’s life is in line.” Jude saw that Zero was about to protest and lifted his hand to silence him. “I don’t know if she can testify or not, but as long as she doesn’t know who shot her, her testimony doesn’t matter much.”

Zero narrowed his eyes and chewed at his bottom lip.

“What?” This time Jude frowned and tried to get an eye contact with him. Gideon was clearly hiding something.

“It just…” Zero looked around as if someone could overhear them. “…I think she knows more than she’s telling us. I planned to get some information out of her before the trial, but if she refuses to talk with me more than just a few seconds on the phone, I don’t have much of a change.”

“What makes you think that?” Jude had no idea why Gideon would make a claim like that.

“It just a feeling I have.” Zero continued and leaned forward to take Jude’s hand between his. “But I also know two other people, who most likely know more than us.” 

“Who?” Jude asked but Zero had no time to reply to him, when the door was opened and the officer waved for him to get out.

Zero made a move to stand up, but Jude squeezed his hands to stop him. “Who?” He asked again, but Zero just shook his head.

“I’ll talk to them and tell you about it later. See you in two days.” Zero leaned forward to give a peck to Jude’s forehead before leaving. 

 

 

After visiting Jude, Zero headed towards the arena for their practice game. This time he wasn’t so keen on giving advice to the other Devils. His mind was focused on something else he was going to achieve later that day. So when their practice was over, Zero went to search for Sloane. She hadn’t been following their rehearsal like she often used to do, so Zero had to search the whole damn arena but he still couldn’t find her. He had been sure that Sloane was still around, she usually left much later together with Pete. So Zero’s next best bet was to go and talk with Pete. 

“Hi, you’re here late. What’s up?” Pete asked as Zero waltzed in his office. The door had been open, so it wasn’t a surprise that Zero didn’t even knock. 

“What did you think of the practice?” Zero asked and sat to one of the free chairs.

Pete looked up at him from his computer and frowned. “I thought I made myself clear when I spoke with all of you just now.”

“Yeah, I just wondered if you were planning some new strategist?” Zero said quite smoothly, although this conversation was far from what he really wanted to know. But he didn’t want Pete to start doubting his motives. Not yet, anyway.

“I am, but it still a work in progress.” Pete confessed.

“Right…” Zero nodded and wondered how he should proceed. There was a short silence before he stood up and picked his bag to his shoulder. “I guess I’ll be leaving then.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.” Pete was ready to turn back to his work, when Zero interrupted him again.

“Where’s Sloane?”

Pete looked up again and looked surprised. “She’s in New York to see Ahsha. Why?”

“I’ve seen you leave together many times. Just wondering.” Zero smirked and turned to leave. He felt Pete's eyes on his back all the way to the door, which made him a little anxious.

 

 

Jude smiled when he saw Lionel walking in with a beaming smile on her face. He stood up to give her a hug.

“You look awful.” Lionel muttered after she took a step back at him and took a good look at her friend. 

“Well, thanks.” Jude still smiled, but he knew how to get back at her. “I was surprised to hear that you gave your earlier visiting time to Jelena.”

As he expected, Lionel quickly avoided his eye contact and started to examine the dull walls around them. “Let’s not talk about that.” She said and hesitated before sitting down to the bed. 

“How have you been?” Jude asked and sat down as well. He felt a little dizzy from being inside for days now. He wished they could’ve talked outside where the sun was shining and air was fresh. It had been only eight days since he was arrested. Jude wondered how he would ever survive in prison if they were to decide that he was quilty. 

“Nervous wreck.” Lionel confessed and sighed loudly. “I started shooting the new film yesterday. I had almost forgot how stressful it is and how long all the days lasts.” Lionel did look tired as she gazed at the tiny cell. Then she turned to look at Jude with a little smile on her face and took hold of his hand. “And atop of it all, I’ve been worrying how you’re doing.” 

“I’m doing okay.” Jude said, which was the truth. His interrogations were held only once a day and they were much shorter now, since De Sario was away. “It’s hard to keep track on time in here, but I think it was yesterday that Zero came to visit.”

“Is he still talking about confessing Jelena’s shooting just to get you out of here?” Lionel asked, with a little twinkle in her eye.

Jude frowned at her. “He said that?”

“Yeah, just after your arraignment. He was mad as hell.” Lionel smiled.

“I hope he won’t.” Jude smiled back at her, a little flattered that Gideon had even thought about doing that for him. 

“I thought he understood that it wouldn’t solve our problems.” Lionel continued and sighed again. “I hope to god, you’ll get out here soon. It’s been lonely without you.”

“You just said you’ve been busy with work.” Jude laughed at her remark. 

“It doesn’t mean that I can’t be lonely without my best friend.” Lionel patted Jude’s cheek. “If it makes you feel any better: I’ll give a good beating to your lawyer if he doesn’t get you out of here as soon as possible.”

“I’ll be sure to pass that on to him.” Jude smiled widely. Poor Sam was going to be in a lot of trouble.


	18. Lies, lies

At the first day of the trial, Zero was so nervous that he felt like throwing up. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had felt so anxious about something. The only time that came to his mind, was his first game in NBA. Sure, he had felt similar after he and Jude had broken up, but it wasn’t the same feeling. Back in the days, it had felt like his stomach had been upside down by longing, but he had known that Jude was out here doing something he loved. Now Zero felt like his stomach was tied to knots and he felt terrified just by the thought that the next two days would determine Jude's faith for many years forward.

Zero hadn’t heard anything from Jelena. She had literally disappeared from the face of the earth. She had even left her work for someone else to deal with. Zero didn’t know who, since her next in command was Jude and as effective as Jude was with his work, he still wasn't capable of doing his work from inside the prison.

The trial was scheduled to start at noon, so Zero left early from the apartment to head towards the court house to see Jude before it started. He hadn’t thought it was possible to be antsier than Jude, but it seemed he was wrong. At least Jude looked much more calmer than he felt. 

“Hi, how are you?” He asked the minute he walked in a small conference room next to the courtroom. 

“I… don’t know.” Jude said, looking a little lost. Zero was glad to see him wear his usual suit instead of old and worn out t-shirt and trousers. “You?”

Zero shrugged to Jude’s question. “I haven’t been able to keep anything down.” He had wanted to make Jude smile, but instead his boyfriend looked worried. “I’ll be fine.” Zero ensured and walked to Jude. He lifted his hands to caress Jude’s arms, but he had just time to touch him, when an demanding voice ordered him to step back.

Zero had forgotten that they weren’t alone. One officer was standing outside this room and another was inside, keeping eye on their interaction. Jude smiled when Zero gave a murderous glance towards the officer, before reluctantly taking a step back. 

“Morning, Zero.” Sam called out as he walked in the room with his assistant. “We should talk with Jude before the trial starts. If you don’t mind?”

Zero didn’t even look at the man and instead stared into Jude’s eyes. He realized that they were both as nervous, but Jude tried fiercely to hide it.

“Yeah, of course.” Zero finally said, breaking their eye contact, just when Sam was about to ask him again. “We’ll see later then.” He gazed once more to Jude and resisted the urge to pull him into a tight hug. He would’ve probably gotten a good beating from the officer and a ban to the whole trial. 

 

The trial started with the judges speech and her relieved comment that detective De Sario was able to testify to the court in the following day. Zero felt even more nervous after hearing that. He had fished that the asshole, who believed that Jude had to be guilty, hadn’t been able to get out of the hospital for days. The case had gained a lot of interest from the media, so it wasn’t a surprise that the courtroom was half full with journalists. They had let Zero be at least for the time being. It was probably because he lived in a different address and they hadn’t been able to track him down. They had tried to ask questions from him in front of the courthouse, but luckily he had been able to escape their endless questioning pretty quickly. However, he was sure that he wouldn’t be so lucky on the following days.

After the judge, both lawyers got their changes to speak behalf of their clients. Zero took the opportunity to observe the members of the jury. Most of them looked quite educated, judging by their clothing, but many people wore their best outfits in this kind of occasions. He spotted a middle-aged man at the back row, dozing off already. Zero couldn’t stop himself from staring at the guy. That kind of idiots were supposed to determine Jude’s faith? The guy startled awake and locked eye contact with him. When he realized that Zero was glaring at him, the guy quickly looked away and seemed to concentrate on listening.

“Is the prosecutor’s first witness ready?” The judge asked after the precise briefing of the case. 

The prosecutor stood up and cleared his throat. “I’m afraid our first witness, Sloane Hayes who found the victim, has declined to testify to this court.”

The judge didn’t seem pleased with that. “Why am I not informed of this?” She asked sternly.

“She just informed me this morning.” The prosecutor squirmed under the judge’s glare. “But I’m quite certain that we can get her to testify tomorrow and we have prepared our second witness, who was scheduled to speak tomorrow: Kyle Hart.”

“Very well. Please, escort her in.” The judge nodded and soon Kyle walked behind the witness stand, looking like a dear in the headlines. “I understand that you gave the police a false testimony, am I correct?” The judge asked after Kyle gave her vows to the court.

She looked around the courtroom before leaning closer to the mick. “Yes, I did.”

A loud chatter filled the room for a moment before the judge ordered them to be silent. “Please, tell us the truth about where you were at the night of the shooting and your explanation to this court of why you saw it necessary to lie to the police.”

Kyle glanced apologetic towards Jude before starting her testimony: “At the time Jelena was shot, I was shopping. I heard about the incident only on the next day and hurried to meet her, but she was of course still unconscious. I had no idea who could’ve shot her. I mean she had made many enemies recently, but really no one who could kill somebody. Of course there’s Oscar Kinkade, Jude’s father, who crossed my mind…”

“Miss. Hart!” The judge interrupted Kyle’s blabbering. “Would you be so kind and stick with the subject: why did you lie to the police?”

Kyle looked a little ashamed and nodded briefly, before continuing: “Yes, of course. Sorry. So, a few months later Jude asked me to tell the police that I saw him and his partner... is that the right word? Maybe, yes, his partner, Zero, together during the time Jelena was shot.”

The judge clearly resisted the urge to roll her eyes and settled to just nod and smile to Kyle.

“So, I agreed to do it but then that detective found out.” Kyle finished and a long silence fell to in to the room. 

The prosecutor stood up and smiled smugly at Kyle. “Miss Hart. When detective De Sario questioned you about the case, you told him that you were paid to do so. Is that correct?”

Kyle squirmed in her seat before nodding. 

“How much?” The prosecutor continued. 

“Not much…” Kyle tried to look innocent.

Prosecutor lifted a sheet of paper so he could read from it. “You said that Mister Kinkade paid you an amount which covers two months of your salary.”

The chatter started again and again the judge had to intervene to retain the calm. 

“I have nothing else to add.” The prosecutor went to sit back down.

“Thank you.” The judge said and turned to look towards Jude and Sam. “Is the defendant ready to question the witness?”

Sam stood up and walked slowly in thoughts to stand in front of Kyle. “Miss Hart, I have only one question for you: why did you agree to lie on behalf of my client? I understand that you weren’t very close, in fact you had nothing to do with each other, am I correct?” 

“Well, yes. We did work at the same building and under the same boss, but our jobs didn’t require interaction with each other. I’m the captain of the Devil girls and Jelena is the ex-captain, so naturally if I have any questions, I’ll turn to her.” Kyle explained.

“So why would you so eagerly to give a false testimony to the police for someone you barely knew?” Sam asked again.

“I didn’t think, even for once, that Jude would’ve shot Jelena. He’s always been so kind and understanding and he’s probably the only person inside the whole arena, who didn’t argue with her.” Kyle seemed happy when an approving murmur filled the room. 

“That’s all from me. Thanks you, miss Hart.” Sam smiled widely and returned to his seat.

“I believe that’s all from Miss Hart. Thank you very much, you may return to the backroom.” The judge said and Kyle did as she was told. 

“Your honor.” The prosecutor stood up. “I just had a word that Miss. Hayes is ready to testify to this court, but she’s here only in half an hour.”

“Thank you for the information.” The judge nodded and the prosecutor sat down again. “I think we can take a break for now and continue in half an hour to hear what miss. Hayes has to say.” She hit the table with her mallet and people started to rise and scatter around. 

Zero spotted Lionel standing up from the back row and walking outside. He followed the flow of people going to the same direction. She stood apart from the crowd and stared towards him with dull expression.

“Why can’t they have a bar in these places? Can’t they see how stressed people are?” Lionel complained as Zero walked to stand next to her. 

Zero smiled, amused. “I think you may have a problem.” He said, only half joking.

Lionel rolled her eyes. “You’re starting to sound like Jude.” She tried to see above all the people to see if she could spot Sam or Jude.

Zero did the same and pointed to the other side of the hallway when he saw Sam talking with his assistant. The pair made their way towards him.

“Hi, you can meet Jude in the room there.” Sam said when he saw them and directed them to the right room. “I’ll be there in a minute. I have few things to go through first.”

Zero was happy to see that the guard wasn’t inside the room anymore and so he took the opportunity to walk straight up to Jude and pull him to a tight hug. Jude greeted him with a warm smile and hugged him back equally tight. As Zero pulled back, he reached to loosen Jude’s tie a little and give him a kiss.

“You two…” Lionel sighed and stepped between them, much to both of their disappointment, to give Jude a hug herself. 

“Did Sam say anything of how it went?” Zero asked.

“He said it went well, but I think he’s already thinking about Sloane's testimony and tomorrow.” Jude said and Zero wondered why he still wasn’t stressed out. He looked as calm as before, which actually worried Zero more than seeing him anxious. This just wasn’t like Jude. He was clearly bottling up his emotions.

“Okay, guys… and lady.” Sam said as he walked in and nodded towards Lionel. “I think Kyle’s testimony didn’t hurt our case as much as I feared, so we’re in a good position. But I’m still worried about what tomorrow will bring. Detective De Sario’s testimony won’t do us any good.”

Zero crossed his arms around his chest and shook his head in disappointment. He started to feel even more anxious about tomorrow than he already was. 

“So that’s why I was thinking…” Sam turned towards him. “…would you, Zero, be willing to testify to the court?”

“What?” Zero frowned and glanced at Jude, who looked as surprised as he was.

“I think it would help for the jury to make up their mind if they heard your version of why you gave the police a different statement.” Sam explained his thoughts. 

“No, I’m not dragging Zero into this.” Jude disapproved sharply.

“I’ll do it if you think it’ll help.” Zero ignored Jude’s glare. 

“I do.” Sam looked apologetic towards Jude. “You can stick with your latest story. Don’t change a thing. Just tell that you were with Jude and when you realized that he was suspected, you decided to tell the truth and since you thought the police wasn’t going to believe you, you… or Jude, decided to ask Kyle for help.” Sam explained and Zero nodded at him. “I think the jury can identify themselves at you better and… I wish it wasn’t so, but since you’re a celebrity, all the ordinary people most likely think that you aren’t capable of lying.”

Lionel snorted loudly, but quickly went silent when Zero glared at her. 

“I need to go through some of my notes before we continue again. You can wait outside.” Sam said and forced Zero and Lionel to depart from Jude. 

 

 

Sloane Hayes sat nervously in the witness’s stand. Her gaze kept on drifting towards Jude. Zero thought she could faint at any minute. It looked like she wasn’t even breathing, until the prosecutor asked her to tell them what happened that night.

Sloane tried to smile, but it faded quickly. “I was heading outside, when I heard the gunshot. It came from towards the offices. I knew Jelena was still at work, so I headed straight towards her office and found her lying on the floor. Jude came in soon after me and together we got help for her.”

“Mister Kinkade said he was at the loading dock. Wouldn’t it take less time to go from there to Jelena’s office than from the entrance?” The prosecutor inquired. 

“Yes, but Jude was in the locker room, right?” Zero was glad Sloane didn’t fall to the prosecutor’s trap. 

“So he says.” Zero couldn’t see the man’s face, but sure that he was smiling. “You didn’t see anyone on your way to the offices?” 

“No.” Sloane answered. 

“You weren’t afraid that the gunman would still be around?” The prosecutor continued pressing.

“I was cautious, of course, but since I didn’t see anyone I wasn’t afraid. I wasn't even sure it had really been a gunshot or something else.” Sloane explained. 

“Right. I have no other questions.” The prosecutor left and Sam took his place.

“Miss Hayes, you say you didn’t see anyone. Was there any place the shooter could’ve hid himself so you couldn’t see him?” Sam started his questioning.

“No, the office was empty, expect for Jelena and everyone else had left and locked their doors. Jude’s own office wasn’t near Jelena’s.” Sloane answered firmly.

“Do you think Jude could’ve somehow shot miss. Howard?” 

“No, I don’t think so. There was no place to hide and he came right after me.” Zero had doubted Sloane had something to do with Jelena’s shooting. He was sure she knew more than she had first told, but after her testimony, he couldn’t feel but grateful, since she stood up for Jude without questions. Most likely it was her conscience speaking, but he was still glad she wasn't making Jude's case worst.

The first day was called to an end after Sloane's testimony and the judge declared that they would continue the next morning.


	19. Prove

Zero had gone through every detail with Sam; what the prosecutor might ask and what Sam himself was going to ask from him. Zero was convinced that he could help Jude’s case with his testimony, but Jude had still been reluctant to let him be put to out there for questioning. He still feared that Zero could be accused of aiding him. 

But Zero wasn’t nervous as he sat behind the witness’s stand. He watched calmly as the prosecutor walked towards him and seemed to wonder what Zero was thinking.

“Mister Zero, or whatever your real name is…”

“Objection!” Sam stood up and interrupted the prosecutor’s sentence. “The witness’s private matters doesn’t have anything to do with this case.”

“I agree.” The judge said. “The prosecutor will remain on the questions that are related to this case.”

The prosecutor only smiled. “As I was asking: is it correct that you were with the defendant on the night Miss Howard was shot?”

“Yes.” Zero answered simply, all the time staring at the prosecutor’s smug face.

“But didn’t you first testify to the police that you were at the locker rooms, alone?” The prosecutor turned towards the jury to ask that question.

“I did.” Zero answered shortly again.

The prosecutor turned to look at him again and frowned. “If you claim that’s not true. Then why would you lie?”

“The same reason I told the police: I didn’t want us to get in a trouble with the Devils.” Zero said almost slowly, as if the man couldn’t understand him if he didn’t speak that way. It clearly annoyed the prosecutor.

“And why would you have get in a trouble?” The prosecutor asked and fake smiled at him. “Didn’t miss Howard just fired you a moment before she was shot?”

Zero returned the smile. “She threatened to do so, but as you all recall: that didn’t happen. Besides I knew I had a pretty good contract which wouldn’t be so easy to dismiss.”

“And it was the defendant, Jude Kinkade, who had made you that deal a couple years back?”

Zero just nodded.

“But weren’t you oblivious about the fact that your contract said that the team’s owner had a twenty-four-hour deadline to sign all the important papers?” The prosecutor asked. “It turned out pretty well for you that miss Howard wasn’t able to finish her job.” 

“It also says that I can be kicked out only if the head coach of the team agrees and I’m sure as hell that Pete wouldn’t have agreed on letting the best player of the team go.” Zero was able to counter attacked. It was only thanks to Jude, who had told Sam and him about his contracts little details. 

“And what about the defendant himself? Wasn’t his father, who had given him that job, just dethroned from the big boss’s chair? So he must’ve thought he was the next one to go?”

“Yeah, he was. But Jude got the job with his own skills. Not because of his father.” Zero felt anger rise in his guts, but he was able to stomp it down before it showed. It wouldn’t help Jude. “Besides Jelena had no intensions of firing Jude. And even if we had thought so, there wouldn’t have been no reason to make things worse and tell the truth to the police.”

“That you had sex in the locker rooms?” The prosecutor clarified.

“Yes.” Zero said dryly, annoyed.

“Can you tell me what is your relationship with the defendant?” The prosecutor pointed towards Jude.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

“And you have been together for how long?” 

“Objection! Their relationship status has nothing to do with this.” Sam yelled again.

“I’m only trying to make clear of how willing the witness would be to lie for his partner.” The prosecutor explained to the judge.

“I think the police has already considered that fact. Please, stick with the subject.” The judge said.

“So you wouldn’t lie for the defendant?” The prosecutor settled to ask. 

“Not, if he had tried to kill someone.” Zero lied smoothly. 

“Okay. That’s all.” The prosecutor faked a smile at him again and returned to his seat.

“The defendant may question the witness.” The judge gave Sam approval to step forward.

“Mister Zero, why did you think it was necessary to change your testimony to the police when it had been months since miss Howard had been shot?” Sam asked his first question. “Wouldn’t it raise suspicion if you both changed your story after so long?”

“Yeah, I did think about that. But I realized that detective De Sario was set on getting Jude guilty about the shooting, I thought it would be best to tell the truth.” Zero answered. For the first time he glanced towards Jude who was watching him calmly. The other side of his mouth rose a little, which made Zero smile as well, before he concentrated back on Sam.

“So you lied because you thought it would hurt both yours and Jude’s career and later told the truth to get Jude out of suspicion?” Sam wrapped up his testimony and Zero nodded in agreement. “I have nothing else to ask.” He then smiled and sat down next to Jude again. 

“Thank you, mister Zero. You can now return to your seat.” The judge said and Zero walked back to the front row, behind Jude, but so that he could see the side of his face. “The prosecutor may call out their first witness of today.” 

“The prosecution calls the head of investigation, detective De Sario, to the stand.” The prosecutor said after standing up. 

The bailiff went outside and soon returned, helping detective De Sario inside. The man was using a wheelchair and he was lead to his spot. 

“You were just released from the hospital. Are you able to testify?” The judge asked, concerned about his wellbeing. 

“Of course.” De Sario answered and placed a file full of papers from his lap to the stand where he could read them. “My men kept me well updated while I was hospitalized.” 

“Very well then. You may tell us to take a break anytime you want. You can start your testimony.” The judge allowed.

“Thank you, your honor.” De Sario said and opened his file. “I personally questioned the defendant, Jude Kinkade, and two other individuals just after miss Howard was shot. The two others were the man who testified just now, Zero and the other was Sloane Hayes, who was on stand yesterday.” De Sario looked towards Zero as he spoke, but Zero just glared back at him without even blinking. “I noticed right away that mister Kinkade was nervous and he testified that he was alone at the loading docks where he heard the gunshot. After that he made his way to miss Howard’s office and found miss Hayes there, helping the victim. Zero testified that he was alone in the locker rooms, but came to the hospital as soon as he heard that miss Howard was shot. I had heard that they weren’t in good terms with each other, which strike me odd. But Zero said that he was there to support mister Kinkade. I believed him, but if Jude Kinkade didn’t shoot Jelena Howard, then why would he need any support?”

“Objection!” Sam had stood up from his chair. “Is the prosecutor’s witness accusing my client’s partner of some kind of crime here? Because no charges has been lifted against him.”

The judge turned towards the De Sario. “Well, are you, detective?”

De Sario seemed to think for a moment but then shook his head. “No, I’m only speculating and everyone on this courtroom can make their own speculations of my testimony. I’m only telling what I was told and what me and my team think went through.”

Zero noticed some doubtful expressions among the members of the jury, which made him smile. Jude had been right, Sam was a great lawyer.

“Detective De Sario, you’re here to prove the defendant’s guilt. Not, performing theories.” The judge said sternly.

“Because of the defendant’s shaky alibi and his behavior during the first questioning, I couldn’t eliminate him from our list of suspects. So I questioned him several times after that and couple months later, both Jude Kinkade and Zero changed their testimonies.” Zero resisted the urge to laugh, that man never had a list of suspects. Or if he did there was only Jude’s name on it. “They testified that they were together at the arena’s locker rooms during the time Jelena Howard was shot. They didn’t want anyone else to know about it, since they were having sex in their workplace, which would cause problems. But as we all understand: their alibies aren’t reliable, since they had plenty of time to come up with it. Plus there’s this problem with Kyle Hart, who confirmed their alibi, but was later discovered to be lying, as you all know.” 

“Later on we discovered that Jude had withdrew money from his bank account regularly, starting little before miss Howard was shot. Here are the documents of Jude Kinkade’s bank activities.” De Sario took a pile of papers and gave them to the judge who glanced them through before nodding approvingly. 

“Does the defense have an explanation to these documents presented to the court?” The judge then asked.

“Yes we have, your honor.” Sam stood up again. “My client and his partner had just bought a plot of land, where they’re building a house. Jude Kinkade had given that cash to the contractor for acute purchases.”

De Sario waited for Sam to sit down again, before opening his mouth. “We checked this from their contractor and he couldn’t verify that. According to him, no documents were made.”

“They did made documents, but it seems the contractor somehow lost them. Luckily, my client kept copies of those documents and I’m happy to present those to the court.” Sam walked to the judge and gave papers to her. 

“Thank you, mister Adams.” The judge looked those papers through as well. “Unfortunately these aren’t the original documents, which makes them unreliable to the court. But it raises suspicion of the existence of the original papers.” She looked towards detective De Sario again.

“We haven’t been able to locate them.” De Sario confessed. “But those documents aren’t the only one which races suspicions: the defendant had made plans to move to Boston. He had even gone so far as rent an apartment for himself and had bought plain tickets to go and sign his new contract of employment. But in the last minute he changed his mind and instead he bought, together with his partner, tickets to Italy. All this indicates that the defendant was planning to leave the country just when we were getting closer of arresting him. After this stunt, the district attorney gave us a permission to arrest Jude Kinkade.”

“But it seems that Jude used his father’s contacts to hire a hitman to get me silent. I was shot only a week ago, here, in this courthouse’s entrance hall and a piece of very important evidence was stolen from me. It was the defendant’s laptop, which would’ve surely contained critical information.” De Sario finished his statement. He shifted in his chair and frowned in pain by the movement. Zero narrowed his eyes in frustration. That face looked exaggerated and was clearly rehearsed to make the members of the jury sympathize for him.

Sloane and Pete were following the trial from the backseat. Pete had been asked to accompany a meeting at the arena, but he had declined, even though it had been important. But he hadn’t trust to let Sloane come here alone. She had been extremely nervous for a week now, ever since they learned that Jude was going to face a trial. He couldn’t blame her.

“Pete, I have to confess.” Sloane suddenly whispered nervously. She was fiddling with her hands and a deep frown on her face told him that she was feeling extremely anxious.

Pete took her hand in his and squeezed gently. “Let’s at least wait what verdict they'll give to him. You’re no use to our daughter if you’re in prison.” He tried to reason with her, but knew that her conscious wouldn’t take Jude being imprisoned about something she had done. 

“Can’t you hear what the detective is saying? He’s going to get Jude convicted.” Sloane raised her voice a little and Pete signaled for her to lower it down.

“The police doesn’t have anything concrete against Jude. I’m sure he’ll get freed.” Pete tried to convince her and succeeded at least for a moment when she squeezed his hand back and settled to listen what was going on. 

“Thank you, detective De Sario. If you’re up for it, the prosecutor may now ask some questions from you.” The judge said and let the prosecutor get on with his job.

His questions were short. Only specifying some of the facts which indicated Jude’s guilt. But when it was Sam’s turn, the bombing began:

“So let me get this straight: you have no concrete evidence against my client?”

De Sario didn’t seem to like the question and reluctantly agreed: “No, we don’t. The gun was never found, but when we add all the other things pointing towards Jude Kinkade’s guilt, there’s no doubt in my mind that he did it.”

“So we have to take your word for mister Kinkade’s guilt?” Sam asked and smiled widely in amusement. “You’re willing to place your whole reputation in line, because you found out that my client has withdrew money from his bank account and because his partner wanted to surprise him with plain tickets to Italy for a weekend’s getaway?”

De Sario only smiled dryly at him.

“You don’t know what was in Jude Kinkade’s laptop?” Sam continued.

“No, but knowing how far they went to get it from the police, it must’ve been important. We actually found out about it, when your client made a phone call from the police station to his partner, Zero. It was their first phone call since he was arrested and instead of catching up with each other, they talked about the laptop.” De Sario made it sound so serious. Like their whole phone call had been just about the laptop and nothing else.

“How do you think it was possible for my client to shoot Miss Howard and then disappear and emerge again, so Miss Hayes wouldn’t bump into him?” Sam now asked.

“In case you’ve forgotten, mister. Kinkade’s the vice president of the Devils. He would’ve had a lot of opportunities to make himself a key to one of the nearest offices, where he could hide in case someone would come to find out who was shot.” De Sario sounded confident as he spoke.

“But you couldn’t find any evidence to support your claim?” Sam pressed.

“We did find out that a key had been made by Zero’s name, but it could’ve easily been mister. Kinkade, who only used his partner’s name. But unfortunately, we couldn’t find the key in question.” De Sario said and showed Sam a document from his file.

Zero realized it must’ve been the key he replicated after he had bought the house he grew up in and had decided to make an extra key just for Jude. He wasn’t sure if he was able to find the receipt for that.

After Sam’s questions, De Sario was freed from his position and he was escorted back outside. Making it look like he was heading straight back to the hospital. Then it was both defense’s and prosecution’s final speeches, which after he jury retreated to think over their verdict.


	20. Living in a moment

“You did well, Zero.” Sam patted Zero’s shoulder as they met outside the courtroom. Zero hoped he had been of help, but he still couldn’t relax. He had always been lousy at waiting. It made his whole body restless and yearning for something to happen. A hand in his arm made him jump, but he relaxed when he realized it belonged to Jude.

“I know you hate this, but all we can do is wait.” Jude said with a low voice. 

Zero still couldn’t believe how calm he looked. He examined Jude closely, but there was no sign of distress. Zero narrowed his eyes. “How can you be so calm?”

Jude was surprised to hear Gideon ask that. He had forced himself to think positive and hiding his nervousness somewhere deep inside himself, so he wouldn’t break down. He had to believe that things were going to work out and trust Sam’s words that he was going to get out of this hell. “Otherwise I would go nuts.” Jude finally answered. He tried to laugh, but it came out as a broken quaver. Jude quickly sucked breath into his lungs, forcing his feelings to the back of his mind.

Zero realized he shouldn’t have asked that. Jude was trying so hard to keep himself together, so he had to do so himself as well and not let his emotions run around. But in the end Jude had always been stronger than him. Zero had a long way to go, if he ever wanted to be remotely as good of a person as Jude was. Not for other people’s sake, but for Jude’s. Zero wanted to be better person for Jude. He couldn’t care less about anyone else. 

Zero spotted Sloane and Pete on the other side of the hall. They were talking close to each other and far away from other people, as if fearing someone would hear their conversation. As he examined their heated conversation, Pete touched Sloane’s arm and started to walk away from her, probably towards the rest rooms. 

Zero turned slightly towards Jude. “I have something to take care of. Will be back soon.” He said and patted Jude’s arm so he would let go of him. Jude watched Gideon walk towards Sloane with a little frown on his face. He was sure it must be something serious, since he wouldn’t use this time talking with her.

“I’m so glad the judge threw the media out of the court room today. It’s awfully crowded even without them.” Lionel huffed as she finally found Jude after searching for him. “How are you?” She then asked and corrected Jude’s suit fondly.

“I’m fine.” Jude took a deep breath before answering. He kept glancing towards Gideon and Sloane, who were now huddled together and speaking with hushed voices so no one else around them could hear.

Lionel followed his gaze and seemed to ponder the same questions as he did. “Do you want me to find out what they’re talking about?” She asked after leaving Jude’s suit alone. 

“No, I’m sure Zero will tell me in time.” Jude said a little reluctantly. He did want to know and right away, if not for anything else, but to get his mind off of the waiting. 

“If you’re sure…” Lionel looked disappointed, but obliged Jude’s wish. 

 

Zero walked briskly to Sloane. She noticed him only when he was standing next to her and looked almost panicked, when she realized there was nowhere to hide.

“Zero, hi. How’s Jude?” Sloane sounded nervous and glanced towards the direction Pete had gone to see when he was coming back.

Zero smiled his rehearsed, fake smile at her. “Go ask yourself, if you’re truly interested.” He said boldly and without a word pulled her even further away from the crowd so they could talk privately. 

At first Sloane looked like a scared puppy, but soon collected herself and straightened her posture. “You have something to say?”

“I heard your conversation with Pete last week.” Zero said and almost failed to hide the smile, when he saw he had hit the jackpot. 

“About what?” Sloane tried to play innocent. 

Zero leaned a little bit closer to her, invading her personal space, making her even more uncomfortable. “About what you did for Ahsha.” He then whispered and saw Sloane’s jaw tighten.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She managed to croak. 

Zero was about to harass her more, when Pete emerged by her side and looked at him disapprovingly. “Hi, coach.” He backed off a little, to give Sloane some space to breathe.

“Zero.” Pete said and looked at him sternly, clearly knowing what he was up to. “Shouldn’t you be by your boyfriend’s side?”

Zero grinned again and glanced towards Jude, who was looking towards them, but quickly averted Zero's gaze when he realized he was caught and continued his talk with Lionel. “I will be, as soon as I find out the truth.”

Pete reflected the smile. “What truth?” He then asked with a calm voice.

Damn, he’s good, Zero thought and wished he had stayed in the rest room a little bit longer. Sloane would’ve surely cracked, if he had had the change to keep on pressuring her alone. “About who truly shot Jelena.” Zero then said with a blank face. He was sure they knew more than they were willing to tell. Heck, maybe even one of them had actually done it. But his best bet was, that they were protecting Ahsha. 

Sloane’s expression changed from stubborn to fearful and she looked towards Pete for help.

“We don’t know nothing about that.” Pete said then and took one step ahead, so he was standing half between Zero and Sloane. 

“You think I shot Jelena?” Sloane then asked, making Zero look pass Pete to her and he realized it wasn’t Ahsha they were protecting.

“I don’t know. Did you?” Zero narrowed his eyes and stared at her.

Sloane seemed to gather some strength before answering: “No.” 

“But you do know who did it.” Zero tried to push pass Pete to challenge her, but he stopped him by putting his hand to his shoulder. Zero glared at his coach before turning towards Sloane again. “You should pray that Jude’s declared innocent, because if he’s not, I’ll do everything I can to get the truth out of you.” He spoke mainly to Sloane but took one final look at Pete, making sure he was at his target list as well, before walking away.

 

The jury’s decision seemed to take years and Zero hated it. Sam had taken Jude somewhere to discuss with him, so Zero had been left to spend the waiting time with Lionel. Most of the time she kept talking about what they should do when Jude was released, but as much as Zero wanted to believe that his boyfriend was freed from all charges, he couldn’t help but fear if Jude was declared guilty. So, the conversation was a bit one-sided. Since Zero didn’t want to express his thought to Lionel and Lionel wasn't interested enough to ask what he was thinking.

It didn’t help either, when Sam and Jude finally returned, that the lawyer had a glum look on his face.

“I just expected the jury to make the decision faster, that’s all.” Sam only said, when Zero asked about it. He sounded fine thought, but Zero saw that his lawyer’s statement started to worry Jude. 

“You okay?” Zero asked from him as she pulled Jude a little further away from the others to get them at least a bit of privacy.

“No.” Jude said honestly and gave him a tight smile. “But I’ll manage.”

Zero looked Jude up and down with worried eyes. Then he decided it wouldn’t help Jude at all if he was being negative and thinking all the worst case scenarios. “Hey,” He brushed his hand against Jude’s to get his attention. Jude did turn to look at him and Zero smiled, taking Jude’s hand to his. “It’ll be alright.”

Jude squeezed his hand and was about to say something when the court was called to continue. 

“We’ll see.” Jude sighed and let go of Zero’s hand to follow Sam back inside. 

 

Zero and Lionel found their previous seats behind Jude and waited in silence for all the people to settle down. The jury members arrived last and the judge asked for Jude to stand up to hear the verdict. He did as he was told and stood up with the jury’s chairman. 

“Do you find the defendant, Jude Kinkade, guilty of a second-degree attempted murder?” The judge asked from the chairman. 

The whole court seemed to go silent as they all waited for the reply. To both, Zero and Jude, it felt like forever until the head of the jury opened his mouth and declared: “Guilty, your honor.” 

The silence dragged even further after those words. It seemed everyone on the room was in shock. Zero looked towards Jude, not knowing what to think. His mind was blank. Jude, in other hand, stared at the judge, clearly waiting for her to say the punishment was a joke.

“Very well.” The judge said and turned to face Jude. “Since the jury had declared the defendant guilty and the defendant had the opportunity and motive to commit this crime, let alone having connections to the underworld which almost cost a detective’s life, I have no other choice, but to give at least the minimum sentence of the second-degree attempted murder: five years and with the change of parole in three years.” The judge brought down the mallet. The sound echoing in the room. Was Jude actually declared guilty? Zero couldn’t keep track on what was going on. It felt like his mind worked on a slow-motion. “The defendant will now be escorted to the California State Prison. The court has now adjourned.”

Zero got dragged back to reality when he locked eyes with Jude’s: he was pale as a ghost and looked completely lost. Sam squeezed Jude’s shoulder and apologized. Zero looked around the room in disbelieve. They just couldn’t declare Jude guilty. That just wasn’t possible. Then his eyes found detective De Sario's, who was looking at him with a satisfied smile on his face. Zero was sure if they hadn’t been in a courtroom, he would’ve given that man a good beating, but instead his eyes were drawn back to Jude. Two police officers had already handcuffed him.

Zero stood up as they started to escort Jude out. He didn’t know what he was thinking, but he just acted and walked forward. “Are you fucking kidding me? That excuse of a detective decided right from the beginning that Jude was the shooter!” He addressed his words to the judge who looked at him in surprise. 

“Mister Zero, calm down and return to your seat!” The judge demanded but Zero heard none of it.

“I’m not going to calm down…” He was interrupted by a guard, who forcefully took a hold of his arm. He tried to pull his hand free, but in vain.

“Zero, don’t make it worse.” Jude tried to talk some sense to him as he was escorted past him.

“Jude!” Zero tried to follow him, but the guard insisted on holding him in place. “Can I talk to him?” He turned back towards the judge, who just ignored him by starting to gather her things. “Just for a minute, please?” He knew exactly how desperate he sounded right at the moment, but he didn’t care. This time the judge looked back at him, clearly thinking about what to do with him. “Please?” He pleaded again.

"Your honor, I don't think it would do any harm if my client could talk in private with Mister Zero." Sam said now and walked next to Zero, asking for the guard to let go of him.

“Very well, but only for five minutes in the conference room.” The judge gave in. “Be so kind and escort these two there.” 

The officers didn’t look pleased when they showed Zero and Jude to a small conference room, which looked more like someone’s office. The officers closed the door behind them and stayed outside to wait. Zero turned to face Jude and sighed loudly.

“I’m so sorry, this is all my fault.” Zero muttered as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Jude. 

“It’s not your fault.” Jude said and cursed the handcuffs that prevented him from hugging Gideon back.

“If I hadn’t bought those tickets to Italy, then maybe…” Zero started as he stepped back.

“Stop it!” Jude suddenly snapped and Zero went silent. “It’s no use dwell in the past. I’m going to jail.” 

Jude’s words were like a slap to Zero’s face as the reality finally sank in: Jude was going to jail for at least three years. 

“Then we appeal about the verdict!” Zero knew it was possible and he was sure Sam would agree with him.

“No, I can’t…” Jude shook his head and looked away from him.

“Of course we appeal!” Zero tried to get Jude to look at him but instead Jude turned and started to pace around the small room.

“I just can’t go through this again!” Jude finally spoke out and waved his handcuffed arms around. “I tried so hard to stay positive and believe in Sam to get me freed, but now I’m put to prison for something I didn’t do.”

“I know you feel disappointed right now but in a few days…” Zero tried to calm him down, but Jude interrupted him again.

“No, Gideon. Do you even have any idea how long it’ll take to get that appeal going? Huh?” Jude glared at Zero who shrug his shoulders. “Months! Or even a year if we’re lucky.” Jude covered his face with his palms to rub his face.

Zero stayed silent for a moment until he knew what he should do. He straightened his posture and looked at straight at Jude. “Let’s get married then.” 

Jude stopped his pacing and turned to look at Gideon with an disbelieved expression. “What?”

“Let’s get married.” Zero repeated. 

Jude only gaped at him for a moment longer before he looked away and shook his head fiercely. “Gideon, I’m getting locked up.”

Zero wasn’t going to give in that easily. “Think about it: we could get conjugal visits and…”

“No!” Jude turned to look at him again and this time Zero realized Jude really meant it.

“Why not? You don’t want to get married?” Zero couldn’t help but let the disappointment and hurt show on his face.

“It has nothing to do with that.” Jude assured. “But I don’t think you’ve thought this through: I’m going to be in jail for the next three or five years, Gideon.”

“I know that.” Zero insisted, he had no idea why Jude was so against the idea.

“And you still want to marry me?” Jude asked and as Zero lifted his arms and looked at him, like it was the most obvious things in the world, Jude couldn’t help but laugh nervously. “And you’d be happy to meet up with me once a week for a few hours?”

“Well, that’s the best we can get.” Zero still tried to wrap his head around Jude’s line of thoughts.

“Yeah, maybe that would be okay for a few months, but what about in a year? I know we both can say it would work out now, but you can’t know how you feel in a year and neither can I.” Jude was almost shouting. He knew it wasn’t fair on Gideon, but he didn’t know what he should say or do in this situation where police officers were outside counting time when they could step in and take him to a prison.

“You’re right.” Zero finally agreed and Jude nodded, not sure if he should be glad or sad that he understood where he was coming from. “I can’t know now what I’ll feel a year from now. Heck, I can’t even say how I’ll feel in a month.”

“Exactly.” Jude nodded, not quite sure why he felt like his stomach was dropping.

“But I know how I feel now.” Zero took a couple steps closer to Jude. “In this room, at this very moment. I know that I love you and I know that I want to marry you. And that’s all that matters, right?”

For a moment which felt like eternity, Jude just looked back at Gideon without saying a word. Then a very hesitant smile appeared on his lips. “You really want to get married?” His voice almost broke as he stared at his love walking closer.

“Yeah.” Zero echoed the smile, but a lot of brighter. Then he knelt in front of Jude like a proper proposer and took his hands on his. “So, Jude Kinkade, will you marry me?” 

“Are you really kneeling?” Jude let out a laugh.

Zero groaned in mock frustration. “Yes, I am but I can take it back as well…”

“Okay.” Jude quickly interrupted him. “Okay, I’ll marry you.” He continued when Zero frowned at him.

Zero felt the familiar feeling of his chest swelling as he smiled up at Jude. He quickly stood up and cupped Jude’s face between his hands to pull him for a deep kiss. Jude sighed into the kiss as he almost forgot where they were and all the shit that had been going on. Zero could feel him smile against his lips and he slowly caressed Jude’s cheek with his thumb.

They stayed like that until a knock on the door interrupted them. The police officers walked in and mentioned for Jude to follow them. “It’s time to go.”

Jude looked one last time at Gideon before turning and walking out with the officers. Zero looked after him for a moment before taking support of the nearest table as his knees gave out. The raw fear of losing Jude, which he had managed to hide for the last five minutes, came rushing in. But he managed to gather himself quickly, when it was time for him to leave as well. Lionel was waiting for him outside with tears in her eyes and he promised to give her a lift home. They didn't exchange any words after that.


	21. Fright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I've been struck by a sudden inspiration and I've been writing more recently, so I'll try to update the story faster from now on. Thank you again for your comments!

Jude felt like his entire world had just ended. There had been a little glimpse of light when Gideon had asked him to marry him, but it felt like a distant memory only an hour later, when he was escorted through the prison’s long corridors towards his ward, which was going to be his life for the next five years. It was like every step took him further down to a deep whole where there was no return. Jude tried to collect his thoughts and concentrate on breathing, but every sound made him startle like a frightened animal.

A guard he had been following stopped in front of a heavy gate and opened it with his keys, the sound echoing around the empty hallway. He waved for Jude to step through and followed him inside to close the gate again. Jude looked around and was positive that every prisoner inside were staring at him. He accidentally caught eyes with one of them and quickly looked away, not wanting to draw anyone's attention if it could be avoided.

“Follow me.” The guard said as he finished locking up and started to walk forward.

Jude followed his steps, wishing that he wouldn’t need to depart from him for the next five years. Only the thought of spending all those years inside this place send shivers down his spine. 

“Here’s your cell.” The guard had stopped again in front of a small doorway which lead to an equally small room with a bunk bed. Jude hesitantly stepped inside. “Alright. You’re free from any activities for the next three days so you can adjust to the situation. From then on, you’ll be appointed to a suitable job and mandatory outings. Take it easy.” The guard walked away with those words and left Jude standing alone.

Jude looked between the beds, trying to figure out which one was his. It was clear that he had an inmate, since there were books lying around the floor and some other stuff, but both beds looked untouched. Eventually he decided to take the least of bad choices and take the lower bed. Just when he was about to put his stuff on it, a voice from the doorway made him jump.

“That’s mine!” A skinny man, couldn’t be more than a thirty years old, stood in the doorway, looking at him with a frown on his face.

“Sorry, I didn’t know…” Jude started but went silent when the man started to laugh.

“No harm done. I’m just pulling your leg. You should work on your reaction. Lesson number one: if you look apologetic your either get beaten up or get to do something you don’t want to do.” The man rambled on. “You must be my new roommate. The previous dude hanged himself to this bed right here. Not a very pleasant sight, I have to say. Hope you don't surprise me like that. I’m Brandon by the way.” Eventually the man stopped and extended his hand. Jude shook it and pointed towards the upper bed.

“Sure, you can have it. I didn’t feel like sleeping up there after Joel fell off and died.” Brandon said and sat down to his own bed.

“I thought you just said he hanged himself?” Jude couldn’t help but comment as he climbed up.

“No, that was Stefan. Joel was my roommate before him. He had been here only for a few weeks, when he met his end. It seemed he was a sleepwalker. Poor bastard didn’t probably even know it himself.” Brandon explained and Jude was convinced that he would not sleep the following night. Not because he was afraid he might sleepwalk but two deaths in the same cell made it feel like something else was going on. 

“Say, you look familiar. I didn’t catch your name.” Brandon peeked from the lower bed to take a proper look at Jude’s face.

“I’m Jude. You’ve…” He was cut off again when Brandon started to talk.

“Nice to meet you. I guess we’ll be seeing each other quite a lot from now on. I’ll be sitting here for the next six years at least. If I’m lucky, I could get out sooner, but my lawyer kinda sucks so I'm not putting my hopes up for that.” 

Jude was actually glad he didn’t get to finish his sentence. It probably wouldn’t be such a good idea if everybody knew who he was and that he was gay and judging by the amount of words that came out of this guy’s mouth, the whole prison would probably hear from him in under an hour. But it was also true that his case had been pretty public, so Jude wouldn't be surprised if all the prisoners already knew him. However, Brandon didn't seem to be one of them. 

“Mate, if you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to come to me.” Jude heard Brandon say. He hoped that the guy actually read all the books he had hoarded in here, so he could get some peace and quiet for time to time. “Prison can be hell if you don’t have anyone to count on. I’m not part of any gangs in here and I’d suggest that you’ll stay far away from them as well, if you don’t want to get a lifetime of favors to pay up to. Let me show you.”

Brandon jumped off from his bed and went to the doorway. He waved for Jude to join him. Jude had hoped he could barricade himself to his bed for the rest of the day, but jumped down anyway.

“If you look up to the second floor.” Brandon pointed to the far left, where similar cells were lined up. “In those, lives the real deals: drug barons, mafia members and murderers. And that guy over there…” Brandon pointed to a middle-aged man leaning against the railing. “…is their leader, Jean.”

“I’ve heard about him.” Jude said, hoping that he would never have to bump into the guy.

“I’d be surprised if you hadn’t. Shit!” Brandon suddenly jumped inside the cell and sat back down to his bed. Jude looked at him with a frown on his face. “He looked straight at us!” Brandon explained and looked almost scared. “I might’ve annoyed one of his little gang member the other day. I know it’ll cool down by itself, but until then, I’d rather avoid him.”

Jude nodded in understanding and climbed back up to the bunk bed.

“Remember to avoid getting into a fight with anyone in here and you’ll be fine. Also, stay away from the drugs.” Brandon instructed.

“You don’t have to tell me that.” Jude mumbled as he started to unpack his stuff, which wasn’t much: extra blanket, toothbrush and two books. In between one of them was a photo of Gideon, which he looked for a moment before sealing it between the pages and tossing the book to the bed. He already missed home like crazy and knew it would get only worse in time. 

“You have a sweetheart at home as well?” Brandon asked and smiled fondly. He hadn't seen the picture, but knew that look on Jude's face. “My Jenna is a lovely girl. We have a daughter as well. Even though I’ve been here for two years already, I know she’ll got my back.”

“Something like that.” Jude smiled as well and watched Brandon disappear under his bed. He hoped that he could say the same thing about Gideon someday, but as he had said, all they knew was what they felt right now. It would be pointless to think about the future. 

 

 

The time seemed to pass slowly. For Jude it felt like days that he just sat there, thinking about everything and nothing, avoiding the world out of his cell. In reality it had only been few hours, when a guard walked in and set his eyes on Jude.

“You have a visitor.” He said and ordered for Jude to follow. 

Jude glanced towards Brandon, who gave him a thumbs up, clearly thinking it was Jude’s “sweetheart” who had come to visit him and Jude hoped he was right. 

But it wasn’t Gideon at the private meeting room where he was escorted, but Sam instead. Jude couldn’t help but to feel a little disappointed, but at the same time he was glad to see a friendly face.

“Hi, Jude. Congratulations.” Sam said immediately as Jude walked in.

Sam’s words made Jude stop as he was about to sit down to the free chair, not quite understanding what his lawyer meant with his congrats. His face must've reflected his bafflement, when Sam quickly continued:

“About your engagement.” Sam clarified and pointed towards the chair for Jude to sit down. “Zero told me and I promise to start making preparations for your wedding first thing tomorrow. It might take some time, since there's a lot of paperwork and discussion to be made.”

“Oh, thanks…” Jude felt stupid for not realizing what Sam had meant. It still felt alien to him that he was actually engaged with Gideon. He sat down and tried to ignore the weight of the handcuffs around his wrists which forbid him for sitting casually.

“So how are you?” Sam asked next.

“Ummm… Not good.” Jude answered honestly, hoping he would already wake up and realize that the trial would only be ahead.

“Damn.” Sam sounded frustrated as he stared at the table. “Honestly, I have to say, I have no idea what went wrong back there. I was hundred and ten percent sure they would let you walk free.” 

“Yeah, that’s what you made me believe as well.” Jude hadn’t meant it to sound so bitter, but it was the truth and maybe Sam deserved a little bickering. 

“I know.” Sam smiled tightly and shook his head. “But to why I am here…” He suddenly started to go through his suitcase. “…I brought you some papers to sign.” He took a bunch of papers and handed them to Jude.

“What are these?” Jude asked as he looked through them.

“We’re going to plead for a new, fair trial.” Sam explained and looked as sure and unwavering as this morning before the failed one. He already believed he could get him out of there.

“You serious?” Jude asked as he started to read the texts from word to word.

“Absolutely. We have thirty days to get these delivered to the judge and she’ll pass them on to the trial court.” Sam pointed towards one the papers which stated about how the plead was going to proceed.

“Assuming I’ll sign these, how long is this going to get before they make the decision?” Jude asked wearily. 

“At least a month.” Sam said, a little solemnly now.

“But doesn’t there have to be some sort of reason to make this plead?” Jude asked and put the papers down, not sure if he could take another guilty verdict 

“Of course, and I’m going to find out what went wrong with this trial.” Sam said firmly. 

“In thirty days?” Jude asked, disbelieved. 

“I’ll try. Besides I’ve talked with the victim, Jelena Howard, she promised to help me.”

“Jelena? She’s back?” Jude hoped she was able to get Miguel to safety. 

“She said she’d be here in two days. I’ll contact you immediately when something happens, but in case I won’t be able to visit, I’ll hope you’d sing those papers now.”

Jude looked through the papers once again before agreeing to sign them and handed them back to Sam. “I won’t keep my hopes up this time, but do what you want to do. Just don’t do this because you feel guilty about the outcome.”

“I’m doing my job Jude and I know when a trial is fare and when it isn’t.” Sam put the papers back to his suitcase and stood up. “Try to stay out of trouble.” He said as he shook Jude’s hand before leaving.

 

 

After the visiting time with Sam was over, Jude was led back to his cell. It was already late and it seemed every prisoner were locked up to their rooms. 

Brandon laid on his back at the bed and seemed to play with a piece of paper. Jude didn’t say anything as he stepped in, but his cellmate didn’t seem to mind. 

“When I was a kid, I was great at making origami cranes. My grandma taught me and when she got to a hospital, I used to send her an origami with a writing in it. Later I found out that she hadn’t even read them, since she didn’t want to destroy my work of art. She died while I was here.” Brandon talked as Jude climbed up to the top. 

Jude was sure he was going to learn this man’s life story in the first week here. He wondered what he would talk about when that was done. Jude thought about answering to him, but then decided not to. He didn’t have the will to make himself feel sorry about Brandon’s life. Not yet anyway. 

“When I get out, the first thing I would do is go to visit her grave. I know it would make her happy.” Brandon said thoughtfully and then fell silent, as if imagining his life outside these walls.

Jude took the opportunity to crawl between the sheets and try to get some sleep. He was exhausted, but soon found out that sleeping wasn’t an option. He realized that the silence was even worse than Brandon’s rambling. It made the atmosphere cold and overwhelming, like he was drowning and couldn’t get back to the surface. The reality of spending the next five years of his life in here, made Jude feel like suffocating. He wanted so bad to just go home and curl to his bed next to Gideon. Only the thought of that made him feel even worse and he soon felt hot tears burn his eyes. He tried to wipe them away and close his eyes to get some sleep, which he knew he needed for the next day to come, but it was no use. A sob escaped his mouth and Jude cursed himself for letting his feeling pour out like that. He waited for Brandon’s dry remark, but there was only silence. It seemed the man had enough decency to stay silent or maybe he knew perfectly well what Jude was going through.

Eventually Jude passed out of exhaustion to a restless dream, but every noise made him startle awake. All the sounds were unfamiliar and Jude wondered where they were coming from. Every creak, tapping sound and rattle made Jude listen if it was followed by another. It seemed like all the sound in the whole prison echoed right back to their cell. Then at the middle of the night he woke up to a scream, like a grown-up man was being killed at the next door. There was pure terror in his voice. After that it fell silent again. Jude tried to listen if he heard the sound of guards running to check what was going on, but instead he heard nothing. He wondered if no one would notice until the next morning if he had been killed at night.

Zero sat in his car in front of their house. He had parked there already ten minutes ago and the car was still running. He drummed the wheel unconsciously as he stared ahead of himself, deep in thoughts. Eventually he took his phone from the passenger’s seat and dialed a number. He pulled back to the street and drove off. It seemed to take forever until the phone was answered, Zero was sure Jude never took so long to answer his call when he still was his agent. 

After he ended the call with his agent, Zero noticed a car following him from the rear-view mirror. It was the paparazzi's, he was sure of it, wanting nothing more than to get the lowest of his days on photos. Jude would say that they only did their work, but Zero cursed and declared their so-called profession the lowest life-form on earth. Luckily, he knew how to get them off of his back and drove around in circles for a long while, until he lost sight of them.


	22. Protection

As Jude woke up, it took him a moment to realize that he wasn’t at home. He stretched his hand to touch Gideon, but instead of finding a warm body, his fingers slammed painfully to a cold concrete wall. Jude cursed loudly and shook his hand in frustration. What a great way to start a day, he wondered and turned to his back to stare at the ceiling.

“Could you curse a little bit quietly. Some of us try to sleep.” Brandon’s sleepy voice came from below him.

“Sorry, I didn’t remember you were there.” Jude apologized and checked that his skin on his knuckled was still intact. 

“Yeah, thanks…” Brandon mumbled against his pillow and probably fell back asleep again.

Jude was sure he would never get used to the sounds and smells of the prison. He wished he could just close his eyes and never wake up again. He tried anyway and was just about to lull back to the peaceful sleep, when a loud bang on the door made him jump.

“Fuck…” Brandon cursed this time. “Wake up, Jude. It’s a whole new world waiting for you.” He joked and made Jude roll his eyes. 

After his cellmate had washed his face and put on some clothes, he came to the side of Jude’s bed where he still laid, not wanting to get up. “You coming to breakfast?” Brandon asked and shook the bed a little. It had probably come loose from the wall when Stefan had hanged himself on it.

“No.” Jude answered shortly, keeping his eyes fixed on the roof.

“I know you think it tastes like shit and they don’t serve anything remotely decent in there…” Brandon started again. “…and you’re right, they don’t, but you can’t just stay here and eat nothing. You didn’t come to dinner last night either.”

Finally, Jude turned to look at Brandon, with not so amused expression. “I don’t feel like eating right now.” He blurted out.

“Alright, suit yourself, I can’t make you to come, but the sooner you go out there and face to world, the better you’ll be.” Brandon took a step back, but when Jude didn’t make any effort to sit up, he turned towards the door to leave.

Jude sighed loudly and then yelled after him: “Okay, I’m coming.”

“That’s the spirit!” Brandon beamed from the doorway. Jude had no idea how this guy could be so happy, here in all places and so early in the morning. “It’s okay, by the way.”

“What is?” Jude asked as he washed face and prepared himself mentally for things to come.

“What you did last night.” Brandon answered. “Feeling sorry for yourself. I wish I could say it gets better, but…”

This time Jude smiled, just a little, grateful for Brandon’s words.

“You smiled!” Jude immediately regretted it, when Brandon shouted out. “You’ll realize it’s not so bad! All the movies and television shows make prisons look like it’s full of coldblooded murderers and rapists. By the way, I haven’t asked how you got yourself in here?”

Jude wondered for a moment what he should say, but eventually he decided to tell the truth. It wasn’t like Brandon was incapable of finding it out himself, if he wanted to. “I was accused of trying to kill someone, but I didn’t.” He quickly added the last part.

Brandon only laughed. “I’d be a millionaire if I got a dollar every time I hear that. Believe me, everyone here is innocent if you’d ask them and the only guy who says he is guilty, actually isn’t.”

“Really?” Jude asked as he followed Brandon outside.

“Mentally ill, he was.” Brandon explained. “Confessed a series of murders to get himself a tiny bit of publicity. He sat here for a couple of years until they caught the real guy. I wonder where he ended up…”

Jude couldn’t remember reading about any of that happening in L.A. He was quite certain that Brandon was making it up, but at least he was turning his attention away from the fact that they had exited their cell. Jude looked around and felt all eyes on him again, but this time it didn’t feel so threatening, when he wasn't alone.

“Don’t worry. Your glory of fame won’t last long. They’ll get used to you soon enough.” Brandon said as they made their way to the canteen.

The food didn’t look so bad, but it tasted like the food they serve on airplanes in second class. Jude had expected worst, but it was eatable. He found himself consuming the whole portion. He hadn’t eaten anything at the previous day, not even before the court, since he had been too nervous to keep anything down. 

“Hurry it up, Jude.” Brandon suddenly said and stared nervously towards the doors. Jude followed his gaze to see Jean walking in with three men, who clearly were his followers. “You remember what I told you last night? Avoiding is the greatest way to keep yourself alive. Oh, shit!” He suddenly yelped and looked like he was ready to dive under the table.

“What is it?” Jude asked confused.

“He’s coming this way.” Brandon lowered his voice to a whisper and suddenly went very pale.

Jude turned around again only to see the man itself standing right behind him.

“You look familiar.” The man said with a deep voice, bringing his hand up to squeeze Jude’s shoulder slightly. 

“I’m Jude, Jude Kinkade.” He replied, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt. Brandon’s behavior didn’t make him feel very confident. 

“Kinkade?” Jean narrowed his eyes as if he was judging him by his looks. “You’re Oscar Kinkade’s son?” 

Jude felt a lump rise to his throat. He wasn’t sure what to answer to that. Oscar might have enemies inside here and he really didn’t want to get them to his bad side from the day one. But before he could reply, Jean smiled widely.

“I can see you’re Oscar’s son. You have the same eyes as him. He did say that you might get in here and asked me to look after you. Know, that from this day on, your enemies will be my enemies. We’ll be taking care of you.” Jean placed his other hand to his should as well, shaking Jude warmly.

“I’m glad to hear that. Thank you… sir?” Jude felt a little relieved but as Brandon had said, he wouldn’t want to own any favors to these kind of guys. But what made him even more surprised was that Oscar had actually asked for Jean to cover his back.

“Please, call me Jean like all my friends.” Then Jean’s eyes settled on Brandon and Jude’s inmate looked like he wanted to crawl to the furthest corner of the room if he was capable of moving at the moment. “Look out for that guy. Otherwise his big mouth will get you in trouble. I’ll see you later, Jude.” Jean clapped his shoulders one last time before turning and walking towards the food serving. He was followed by those three men, who had been watching the scenario from further away.

Jean’s visit was followed by a short silence, which Brandon broke when he slammed the table with his palms. “Jude, why didn’t you tell me Jean’s your friend?” He looked like his respect for Jude had just grown ten times higher. 

“Because he isn’t.” Jude explained, watching after the man for a little time longer before finishing his glass of water. He had been extremely thirsty as well.

“Well your pop’s then.” Brandon peeked after Jean as well before standing up. “I worried about you for nothing. You’ll be just fine.” He smiled and patted Jude’s shoulder as well.

“I hope so.” Jude sighed and followed Brandon. He didn’t know what to think of this new turn of events.

 

 

Zero felt weird to sit by the gray metal table, which was one of many alike, in the middle of the room. Three of them were also occupied by visitors and prisoners, which Zero couldn’t care less about, so he paid them only little attention. He was wearing the same suit as yesterday, but only without the suit jacket, since the day was warm. The guards had given him a sign which clearly indicated for him to be a visitor, which the clothing clearly wouldn’t have given away. Zero didn’t know why, but he felt nervous. Not only because it was his first time visiting a prison, not that he hadn’t had a change earlier in his life, but because he feared how hard it would be to face Jude here. He feared that Jude was totally lost and there was nothing he could do. Some part of him kept telling it was his fault that Jude was here in the first place. He should’ve never bought those plain tickets. 

The door, from where the guards escorted prisoners in, was opened and Zero felt his heart swell and a silly, love struck smile spread on his face which he couldn’t care less, when he saw Jude walking inside, free of handcuffs this time. A smile appeared on Jude’s face as well, when he spotted Gideon and fastened his steps to get to him faster. Zero took a couple steps forward as well and opened his arms for a hug. Jude collapsed into his arms and hugged him back, but only for a second. Zero frowned in confusion when Jude pulled him back from his shoulders almost instantly.

“Not here.” Jude said quietly and waved his head towards the other prisoners. 

Zero looked around again and nodded in understanding. He cared even less for the other people in the room and wished he could’ve met with Jude in a private room, but it was mostly reserved for the prisoner’s and their lawyers. They sat down to the tiny table and soon Zero forgot about all those other people. 

“How has it been?” Zero asked and examined Jude’s face carefully. He looked tired and that orange prison clothes didn’t suit him at all, but Zero was glad to see that Jude didn’t look as given up as he feared he would be. 

“I’ve been offered drugs three times already and I’m not sure it’s wise to turn them down.” Jude said sarcastically.

“Don’t even joke about that.” Zero warned but smiled anyway.

Jude looked at Gideon up and down, before settling his eyes back on his. “You’re wearing the same clothes as yesterday.” He stated calmly.

Zero knew Jude would realize that. “I haven’t been sleeping at anyone else’s bed if you think that.” He answered, not quite sure if Jude was mad or not.

“It’s not that.” Jude smiled. “I’m just wondering why you haven’t changed.”

Zero considered for a moment if he should change the subject or just tell the truth. He didn’t want to bother Jude with his doings, but since Jude would worry even more if he didn’t tell, he decided to answer: “I didn’t go to the apartment. Didn’t feel like it.” Zero looked down at the table for a second, when he saw concern grow on Jude’s face. “I slept in a motel half way here. It reminded me that those places aren’t worth visiting without you, the beds are fit for only one thing.” 

Jude rolled his eyes, but a corner of his mouth lift up anyway when he remembered the few times they had rented a room from a motel instead of staying at Jude’s place.

“Seriously, what is it like?” Zero asked again.

Jude thought for a moment how to answer to the question. “It’s been… better than I expected, but worst at the same time.” He knew Gideon wouldn’t understand his explanations and decided to tell what had happened instead. He told about Brandon, his annoying roommate, but the one person who made him feel not so alone and Oscar’s friend Jean, who had offered his protection. 

“Jean? Isn’t that the drug king who was arrested four years ago?” Zero asked and got his confirmation as Jude nodded in answer. He didn’t know if that guy’s protection was a good or a bad thing, but hoped for the best.

Jude leaned across the table and moved his hands a little bit closer to Gideon’s, close but not touching. “Can you do a favor for me?” He asked with a low voice.

“Anything.” Zero answered without hesitation.

Jude smiled a little again, but it disappeared soon. “Could you find out what Oscar’s up to? I can’t see any reason for him to make my life easier in here. So it’s either a trick or he has his own benefit on line.” 

“I’m not sure if he talks to me, but I’ll try to find something out.” Zero confirmed and slipped his hand a little closer to Jude’s so that their fingers touched only lightly.

 

 

After the visit to the prison, Zero had no other choice but to make his way to the arena. The team had a practice, but Zero preferred not to meet with Pete for a while. He wasn’t sure what he would do to their coach when he saw him. He wanted to get some answers, but knew Pete wouldn’t give them to him. 

Luckily Pete had reported himself ill and their assistant coach led the practice. It was firs of its kind for Pete to stay away and it inflicted a lot of discussion between the players. Only Zero stayed out of it, his concentration on something else. It seemed most of his team players understood and let him sulk in peace, but Zero felt Jake’s and few other’s eyes on his back at the locker room. He paid them no attention and exited as soon as possible, without saying a word. 

Zero send a text message as he made his way through the arena to the parking lot. It took him some time to get there, since parts of the arena were still under construction. Or were, it seemed that the work had been halted since neither Jude or Jelena were there to make decisions. The thought made Zero’s stomach clench uncomfortably. As stepped outside his phone buzzed. He got an answer from Sloane. Zero smiled to himself, or more like grinned with satisfaction. He didn’t get the answer he had waited for, but he knew he was pinning Sloane against the wall.


	23. Inconvenient trust

The time went by slowly. Jude was sure he was losing his mind, even though nothing dramatic had happened. But being able to see Gideon only once in two weeks and call him once a day, if even then, drove him insane. In the other hand, talking with Gideon made him feel homesick and he often called just before lock-down so he could crawl to the top of bunk bed to be left alone. During daytime Jude spent in his “job” on filing papers at one of the archives. Nothing confidential, just order list of the canteen or the laundry. It was dull and often let his mind wondering, but Jude was content, since he was able to be alone. It was a nice change from Brandon’s never-ending stories. 

Zero wasn’t doing so great either. He consumed his free time at work, negotiating with his agents (in case Pete tried to smoke him out of the team) and harassing Sloane with text-messages. He had also paid the same guy, who found his sister Laura, to stalk Oscar and find out what he was up to. He hadn’t reported on anything yet. All the other times Zero spent thinking. He couldn’t withstand the rule that he could visit Jude only twice in a month. It felt like eternity.

It had only been a week since Zero went to see Jude and he already regretted for using his first visiting hour so early. But he had needed to see that Jude was doing okay in there and if he had waited a day longer, he probably would’ve drove himself mad. Zero hadn’t visited their house since the last day of the trial and stayed instead at his old apartment, which he had already sold to some company, but they hadn’t done anything with it yet and so he was given permission to stay there for the time being. For once Zero was happy of his new agent’s work. His old apartment wasn’t so full of memories as Jude’s. Of course, they had spent their moments in there as well, but Zero didn’t have to be reminded about Jude at every second. The new house wasn’t full of memories either, how could it have been, but the idea that he had been supposed to live with Jude there, made it impossible to stay. He had managed it during the trial, hoping that Jude would soon get free, but now it was like a bunch to the guts every time he even thought about it. 

So Zero had successfully avoided stepping inside there, but after that one week, he had no other choice. He had bought new clothes just so he wouldn’t have to get his old ones but now he needed to get some papers, which he couldn’t buy. 

Zero was surprised to see that the door was ajar when he arrived there. He opened it up completely, slowly, as if waiting for somebody to jump at him as he did so, but nothing happened. Silently he stepped inside and looked around: everything seemed to be in order. The drawer in the entryway was untouched and as he walked more inside, nothing else was moved either, so it wasn’t a burglary unless they knew exactly what they were looking for. A movement in the kitchen made Zero jump, before he noticed it was Lionel standing there, looking as shocked as he was. 

“How the hell did you get in here?” Zero asked, a little annoyed for not realizing it had been Lionel’s car at the other side of the street.

Lionel lifted her hand where she dangled a key. “Jude gave me a spare key. Just in case.” She explained. “He really doesn’t tell you those kind of stuff, does he?” 

Lionel’s voice made Zero glare at her. He didn’t care if she had the spare key or not and Jude probably knew that as well. It could’ve also been that Jude had told him, but Zero had paid attention to something else entirely.

“And what are you doing here?” He asked then and made his way to the study, where all the important papers were stocked. 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Lionel asked, a little mock in her tone. “I came to see you. Where were you by the way?”

Zero heard her following him, but didn’t turn around to answer and instead ducked to search through one of the drawers. “I’ve been living at my old place, not that it has anything to do with you.” He said sarcastically.

Lionel rolled her eyes. Zero really was an asshole when he wasn’t around Jude. When she first heard, or more likely saw, that those two were together, she had no idea what Jude saw in this guy. Yes, Zero was good looking, no doubt, but she had always thought he was a boastful dickhead. 

“I’m checking up on you, as Jude asked me to.” Lionel said and saw Zero’s shoulders relax a bit. “He’s worried about you, you know?” She continued, not letting him know that she had been a little worried too.

“I’m doing just fine as long as I find that piece of crappy paper.” Zero answered without looking up.

“Good. I’ll inform that to him with those exact words.” Lionel said dryly. “Besides, he might know where it is better than you.”

“Got it.” Zero took a thin file and showed it to her before closing the drawer and heading back out again.

“Where are you going?” Lionel quickly followed him, but was getting behind, since she couldn’t walk as fast as Zero with her new high heels. “I had something else to talk to you about!” She eventually yelled out when Zero was already at the door. To her relief, Zero halted and turned around to listen to her. “Much better.” She mumbled as she coughs up with him, feeling the shoes rub at her toes. “I heard from Jude that Sam is trying to figure out how to get a re-trial.” 

“Yes.” Zero said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“So have you found out anything?” She asked and tried to rearrange her foot better inside the heel. 

Zero watched her struggle, disinterestedly. “Not that I know of.” He then answered.

Lionel’s face suddenly lit up. “I’ve done some research and it turned out that one of the jury members, the middle-aged woman with the ugly glasses, has something to do with the Devils.” 

Zero’s interest rose. He hadn’t paid attention to any middle-aged woman with ugly glasses, but knew that Lionel wouldn’t lie about that. “What connections?” 

“I’m not sure yet, but as I looked through the names of the jury members, I realized that I’ve talked with her on a phone at few occasions while I was at Oscar’s seat.” Lionel told him, glad that she could be of help. “And I also wanted to talk about Sloane.” Lionel noticed how Zero stiffened a little. “You think she has something to do with Jelena’s shooting, don’t you?”

Zero looked around as if fearing that someone could over hear them in the empty house and he leaned a little bit closer to her. “I don’t have anything I can prove yet, but I’m positive that Sloane is either protecting someone or is the one who shot Jelena.”

Lionel didn’t seem surprised by the thought. “I’ve always known she isn’t as innocent as she plays to be.” She said with more than a little loathing on her voice.

“Don’t tell anyone about it, okay?” Zero leaned even closer, as if he was threatening her. “I want solid proof until I’ll do anything else.”

“What proof?” Lionel frowned but Zero only smiled slyly at her before turning around and going to his car. Lionel wanted to squeeze more out of him, but decided to let it be for now. She locked the door behind her and headed to her own car, waving goodbye to Zero as he drove off.

 

 

Zero was in a hurry. He was almost late from practice and rushed through the arena. They had another home game tonight and it wouldn’t be good to miss tonight's strategy plan. He cursed the stupid constructions, which made his way twice as long as it usually was. But as he stormed inside the locker room, he froze almost instantly and forgot his rush as he saw three of his team mates gathered around in a circle in the middle of the room. It wasn’t the fact that they hadn’t gone to the court yet, but the white plastic bottle which Jake was just handing over to Otis. 

“What is that?” Zero asked as he stared at the bottle in disgust, already knowing the answer.

Everyone looked as surprised as he was when he had rushed in. They clearly had thought that he had already gone to the court, like he usually was. The oppressive silence was cut by a fake laugh, coming from the youngest team member: Jake. Zero’s eyes drew slowly to him and he wished for the tenth time that Jude hadn’t recruited that dimwit. 

“It’s formebolone.” Jake stated then, like it was the most normal sight in a professional basketball’s locker rooms. 

“You got the kidding me.” Zero shook his head in disappointment and chew his lower lip. He set his eyes on Otis, who quickly looked down to the floor, ashamed.

“Come on, Zero.” Jake opened his mouth again, this time taking a step towards him with the pill bottle in his hand. “You know we can’t win tonight. Not without a little… help.”

Zero stared at Jake’s hand as he came closer with the doping. He knew very well their playing hadn’t been what it should or could’ve been. It actually sucked, compared to the games they had last year, but Zero would never decent so low. 

“We’re professional players.” Zero almost shouted and looked at Jake like he didn’t know that. “We don’t use doping just because few games has gone bad.”

“Few games?” Jake laughed again and looked back at the others, expecting them to laugh as well, but they stayed silent. “The whole season has gone bad!” He then shouted back at Zero. 

Zero bit his lower lip in frustration and tried to swallow the anger and words that threatened to escape his mouth, which would only make things worse. 

“We are saving this team from embarrassing itself. We are protecting the championship which doesn’t seem important to you.” Jake glared at Zero like he was the only one to blame for their past problems. “For god’s sake, you’re supposed to be our captain and you can barely manage to show up in time, let alone give us the support we need!”

“Look, kid!” Zero stepped closer to Jake and enjoyed seeing the annoyed look on his face when he called him that. “I know you have enormous urge to win the championship for the first time in your career and you can’t settle on anything less. I’ve been there, believe me.” That was when Zero realized, to his horror, that he and Jake were much more alike than he had thought. He had been such as eager to win and maybe even more egoistic, but he had had enough common sense not to use drugs to get where he was. “But unless you win by your own skills and group dynamic, it’s not worth it.” He stated the last words to all the team members hovering behind Jake. They looked at each other before Otis stepped next to Jake and took the bottle from his hand. 

“Zero’s right.” He simply said.

Zero saw that Jake was ready to protest, to try and talk the other behind his back. “If you promise to keep away from those, I will concentrate on the games again, hundred percent.” Zero quickly added before he could say a word.

Jake side glanced at him before looking at the bottle in Otis’ hands. “Then let’s give it a shot.” He said barely audible. 

“Then what are we waiting for?” Zero raised his voice and gave Otis a sharp look. “Get rid of that shit! The practice has already started, let’s go, go go!” He shooed everybody out of the locker room and followed them.

 

 

They won the game, it had been a tough match, but after the half time, they had managed to improve their playing, which was mostly thanks to their conversation. Pete had skillfully avoided any interaction with Zero and he had done the same. They only spoke when necessary and managed to keep the tension between them secret from the others. 

Zero was last to leave the locker rooms. He had stalled intentionally, wanting to make sure the others didn’t stay behind to deal more drugs. He knew he was being paranoid and that it was more likely that they did the dealing somewhere else from now on. As Zero followed the last one out, he saw a figure standing at the other end of the corridor. He glanced towards it and said goodbye to others, before walking to meet with Jelena.

“You’re back.” Zero stated, not sure if he should be angry with her.

“Quite an observation.” Jelena said dryly, but her tone of voice changed immediately: “I was stunned to hear that they actually sentenced Jude.”

Zero didn’t say anything. He only stared at the far end of the hallway.

“I thought I could get him out easily.” Jelena continued, not caring what Zero was thinking. “I went to talk with De Sario.” She caught Zero’s interest as he turned to look at her with anticipation. “I told him I knew who had shot me and that I didn’t want to tell who it really was, because I was scared. But…” She trailed off.

“But what?” Zero leaned closer.

“He didn’t believe me.” Jelena finally said, like speaking the words caused her pain. Zero had never seen her so emotional and he almost believed that he had imagined it, when her expression changed back to steel. 

“Fuck that man…” Zero muttered under his tongue and started to pace around. He hadn’t even realized how much he had relied on Jelena’s ability to get Jude out, but now it felt like yet another door had been slammed shut in front of him. There was only Sam and the possibility of a new trial to get Jude out. 

“Tell me about it.” Jelena agreed, much more loudly. She was pissed off and Zero hoped she had given De Sario something to think about. “What do you think we should do now?”

Zero cleared his throat. “Sam believes we have a change to get a new trial. But it takes a month to get a confirmation and even before that, we need a reason to get the new trial.” Then he remembered his conversation with Lionel and he stopped to stand right in front of Jelena. “Lionel said that she knew one of the jury members. She couldn’t tell who she was, but knew that she had connections to the owner of the Devils.”

Jelena seemed to think for a moment before nodding. “I’ll look in to that.” 

Zero nodded back at her, knowing that he could trust her with that. “Let me know when you find something out.” For a moment, he was silent. Not knowing if he should ask what was on his mind, but realized that he needed to know. “You know about Pete and Sloane, don’t you?” He had hoped he had been wrong, but Jelena’s almost scared face told him everything. 

“What are you…?” She started but Zero cut her short.

“Since when have you known that they’ve been involved?” Zero demanded, taking an threatening step closer to her, but Jelena didn’t even budge. 

“I’ve talked with her.” Jelena only said when she realized that Zero knew nothing significant, but she had to calm him down so he wouldn’t look into the matter anymore. “She knows the situation and is willing to help Jude if needed.”

“What does that even mean?” Zero frowned at her, the trust he had felt between them just a minute ago seemed to waver.

“We still have plenty of time before the plea for the new trial has to be made.” Jelena stated calmly. “I have a backup plan if things go wrong. Trust me.”

Zero pondered her words for a moment. It seemed he had no other choice but to trust her. 

 

 

That night Zero headed straight to his apartment. It was late, but he was expecting a call. He made sure there was power in his phone and settled to the couch. He stared at the screen, watching the minutes pass by. When the time changed to nine o’clock, Zero waited anxiously, finger ready to accept the call at any second. But when it actually rang, he fumbled with the touch screen until finally was able to press the phone against his ear. 

“Congratulations.” Was the first thing he heard and smiled in relief to hear Jude’s voice.

“Still a long way to go.” Zero answered. “But I’m glad. Today was a shitty day.” 

“What happened?” Jude sounded concerned and even thought Zero avoided talking about himself most of the time, he needed to lighten the burden from his shoulders just a little bit. 

“I found out that part of our team has been using doping for a while now.”

“What?” Jude’s disbelief was clear in his voice.

“Exactly.” Zero agreed. “I normally agree on your choices, but Jake, that kid was a wrong call.” He couldn’t help but snap at Jude a little bit, but only to tease him.

“Hmmm…” Jude only hummed and was silent for a moment. Zero wondered if he line had been cut, but he was sure he could hear Jude breathing at the other end. It made him feel calm and he felt the adrenaline descend in his blood. “It seems I was wrong about him at some part.” Jude finally confessed, but he didn’t sound too concerned.

“Only one?” Zero asked then, closing his eyes. 

“Yeah.” Zero could imagine Jude smile to the phone. “You may not like this, but he reminded me of you when we first met.” 

Zero opened his eyes now. He had admitted that to himself, but hearing it from someone else, especially from Jude who knew him better than anyone, was completely different thing. 

Jude seemed to read his mind and quickly continued: “You have the same ambitions and desire to become better. But… I think it’s safe to say that you’re much better in many ways.”

Zero smiled. “Oh, in which categories?”

“I can’t compare you completely but I can imagine many things.” Jude lowered his voice a little. “But seriously: I hope you gave them a good speech to quit using and concentrating on playing.”

“I did.” Zero agreed. “Not sure if the effect will last, but we’ll see.”

“Good and it showed on the game. You did much better job than previously.” Jude sighed. Zero could hear someone talk at the background. “Look, I got to go. Once again: congratulations.”

Zero felt his heart sink by the thought of waiting through the weekend until he could hear Jude’s voice again. “Thanks. I love you.” He didn’t expect to get an answer and didn’t get one since Jude only said goodbye and hang up. But Zero knew how Jude felt and it was enough.


	24. High from the feeling

Zero paced around the arena’s empty hallway. Whenever he heard someone coming, he paused and looked towards the direction of the footsteps. After he saw that the person wasn’t who he was waiting for, he started to walk around again. Three times that happened, until the one he had been waiting for had the decency to turn up. 

Pete froze when he rounded the corner and saw Zero standing there in front of his office. He seemed to mull over if he should turn around and run or face his star player. But when he realized that Zero had seen him, he pressed his lips tightly together and walked towards his office.

“Zero.” He said with an ice-cold voice as he took his keys to open the door.

“Look, Pete.” Zero stepped between his coach and the door to get his attention. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m ready to bury the hatchet.”

Pete eyed him warily and then made a move to push Zero out of his way, but he wouldn’t budge. And since Pete was much shorter than Zero, he couldn’t make him move.

“I realized we have to forget the past events and concentrate on the upcoming games.” Zero explained his sudden interest of making peace between them.

“You expect me to forget that you’ve been harassing Sloane for some stupid thought, you’ve got into your head, that she has something to do with the shooting?” Pete had now taken a step back from Zero and was staring at him like he had lost his mind.

“Yes.” Zero said through gritted teeth, trying to not let his annoyance show. “We are soon going to be on playoffs, so at least for the rest of the season, we should be professional enough to leave our differences out of the court.”

Pete wondered his words for a moment before slowly nodding. “Okay. I think we can do that.” He stepped towards the door again and this time Zero let him through. Pete opened the door and was about to go in, when he suddenly stopped and turned to look towards Zero. “What are you still doing here? Go to the warm-ups and we go through the tactics of tomorrow’s game when I get there.” 

“Yes, sir.” Zero said dryly and did as he was told. 

 

 

After their rehearsal, Zero listened the other team members’ conversation about the upcoming game. They were all in a good mood, laughing and encouraging each other. It was their first exercise in which they felt like the game had started to run smoothly. They didn’t have to go through every tactic step by step, but instead they were able to trust each other to be where they were meant to be. It was a good sign, but Zero feared it wouldn’t be enough for their next game against Miami, Derek’s new team. 

As Zero pulled his trousers on, he took the phone from its pocket and saw that Jude’s detective had tried to reach him. After an failed phone call, he had send a text message, which said: " _I’m sorry, but I couldn’t find anything suspicious about the way Oscar Kinkade has been acting, nor about what he has been doing and with whom. I will continue watching him, if needed._ ” 

Zero frowned and rotated the phone around in his hands. He didn’t believe that Oscar wasn’t up to anything illegal. Then he got another text, but this time it was from Jelena, which started: ‘ _I found out who the woman in the jury was, which Lionel was talking about…_ ’ Zero gapes at the phone as he felt the adrenaline in his bloodstream rise again to the same level as in the rehearsal. 

“Yo, Zero!” Otis shouted from across the room, making him look up at him. “Why so serious? Tomorrow’s going to be epic!”

“Sure, Otis!” Zero agreed and forced a grin on his face. “If you manage to keep your mouth shut.”

Otis rolled his eyes and waved him goodbye as Zero left the locker rooms. He headed straight towards his car and Oscar’s house.

 

 

Jude had feared to see Jelena coming to see him. He couldn’t hide the disapproving look from his face as he laid eyes upon her. Jelena noticed it immediately and narrowed her eyes at him, but didn’t say a word as he sat down across from her. 

“Hi,” She simply greeted before continuing: “I just wanted to apologize for taking so long to come back. I tried to fix things and went to talk to De Sario, but it didn’t lead to anything.” 

“I’m grateful, Jelena, I really am.” Jude smiled at her, feeling grateful for all the things Jelena had done for him in the past months, except for kissing Zero, but that was in the past. “But I think you shouldn’t visit me anymore.”

“Why not?” Jelena looked a little hurt, if that was even possible.

Jude rubbed his hands together and glanced around the visiting room, trying to find the right words to make her understand. “I just don’t think it’s best for the Devils, if you are associated with me.”

Jelena let out a humorless laugh. “Why do you think so? You are innocent, Jude, and once we get you out, we are going to continue…” But she didn’t get to finish when Jude interrupted her:

“No, Jelena.” He said firmly to get her full attention. “Even if I get out, I could never come to work for the Devils. Think about it: I’ve been charged with your attempted murder. It’s best for everyone if you give a statement that you respect the court’s decision and try to find a replacement for me as soon as possible. And believe me, I’ve thought a lot about this.”

For a moment, she just stared at him, like he had lost his mind. “Are you certain about that?” She asked then and Jude could see that, at least, a part of her understood where he was coming from. 

Jude nodded at her. He had gone through this a lot in his mind, knowing for a fact, that this was best for everyone, but letting go the job he had dreamed of for so long, still made him feel melancholic. 

Jelena looked down at the table and nodded then as well. “I understand. I’ll do as you say…” Then she reached out to take Jude’s hand on hers. “…but only for now. Once you get out, I’ll make sure everyone believes that you are innocent and the best person to be Devil’s vice president.” 

Jude saw a hint of a smile on her face and couldn’t help but reflect it back. Her words sounded like an unattainable dream but it made him happy.

 

 

Zero had a fight with the security guard at the gate, before the man had led him inside Oscar’s property, but only because he recognized him and could identify him if something happened to mister Kinkade. Zero couldn’t care less about his deduction and drove up in front of Oscar’s house. He got up from the car just in time to see the man himself walk out of the front door.

“Oscar!” He shouted at the man, who stopped to look at him. He didn’t seem surprised to see Zero, but only eyed him calmly as he walked closer. “Let’s make something clear: I want you to tell me exactly what are you planning or I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

“Zero, Zero…” Oscar sighed and smiled, amused at him. “You should really work on the way you threaten people. It hasn’t turned up very well in the past for you.”

“Don’t you play games with me.” Zero growled at him and stopped to stand right in front of the man just so he could look down at him.

“Calm down, boy. I have nothing to tell you about.” Oscar said and started to walk away towards his own car.

“Oh yeah?” Zero followed him persistently. “What about your pal, Jean, who’s watching over Jude in prison? What about the woman, who was in the jury, huh? You don’t know anything about her?”

To his last statement, Oscar stopped and turned to face him. “I don’t feel the need to explain my actions to you, but since you won’t leave me alone. First: Jean owns me a favor and was happy to pay me back by watching out for my son while he’s in there. And second: I do know about Mrs. Mitchell.”

“And that she’s the wife of the security guard who died on the fire at the arena?” Zero clarified. 

“Exactly.” Oscar smiled his self-centered smile again, which annoyed Zero even more. “As you’ve probably found out as well: she had disappeared. But not to worry, I have my men looking out for her and she’s going to turn up soon.”

Zero narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out a reason for Oscar to behave this way. Why would he use a favor that Jean owed him for Jude’s benefit? He could think of a million more reasons to use that so it would advance Oscar himself. And why would he go through the trouble to look for a woman who had nothing to do with him? Zero couldn’t figure out answers to either of those questions.

“Don’t you worry, Zero. I’ll fix everything and inform Jude’s lawyer once she’s found.” Oscar then reached out to tap Zero’s cheek, which made him feel like a dog and he glared down at the man in disgust. “I don’t like that my son’s been imprisoned for something he did not do.”

Zero watched the man drive away and muttered curses under his breathe. He hadn’t found out anything he had hoped he could. Maybe Jude would be able to lighten up some things for him, but he couldn’t talk with Jude until the day after tomorrow, since he was supposed to be in a plane to Miami in an hour. 

 

 

Zero noticed a voicemail from Sam the moment he opened his phone after the plane had landed on Miami. It was eleven pm and he decided to wait patiently another quarter until they were in their hotel rooms, before listening it. He could have done so at the airport, but he preferred to be alone when it concerned about Jude. 

‘ _Zero, it’s Sam. I have good news for you!_ ’ Zero’s heart jumped in expectation when he heard Sam’s promising voice. ‘ _The woman, Mrs. Mitchell, just signed up to the police office. She hasn’t given a formal statement yet, but what I’ve heard, she’s confessing of complicating the jury decision on Jude’s case. That would mean a retrial for sure. We’ll talk more in the morning._ ’

Although the message had ended, Zero still held the phone against his ear. He couldn’t describe what he felt at that moment. Finally, he dropped the phone to the bed and a wide grin spread to his face, things were starting to work out. It was about time, he thought and slept soundly for the first time in weeks. 

 

 

Jude had heard the news two hours before Zero and was now sitting on his bed, having mixed feelings. He wanted to feel happy and celebrate the upcoming trial, but at the same time he dreaded the outcome. Another guilty verdict would destroy him and Gideon most likely as well. Even if Mrs. Mitchell had been able to influence the jury’s decision with her opinions about him, it still didn’t guarantee that another jury would come up with not guilty verdict. 

“Stop thinking.” Brandon’s voice reached his ear, interrupting his line of thoughts. “I can hear you all the way down here.” 

“Be quiet for a moment.” Jude told him. He had sometimes started to say back to the man, whenever he annoyed him too much, but that usually made Brandon even more delighted to speak to him and this time was no exception. 

“You’ve been all quiet ever since you had your phone call for today.” Brandon’s head peeked up from the side of Jude’s bed. “Don’t tell me your sweetheart dumped you!”

“No, it was my lawyer.” Jude explained and finally looked at Brandon, feeling a smile appear on his face.

“Oh, it’s something good!” Brandon clapped the mattress in delight and waited patiently for Jude to continue.

Jude shrugged before telling: “It seems there was a mix up with one of the jury members. She has connections to me in… well, it’s not important, but it means that I get a retrial.”

“Really?” Brandon gaped up at him. “Are you sure?”

“It’s not official yet. My lawyer said it’ll take at least a week before the decision is made formally but he was quite certain it will work out.” Jude explained quickly, like he had just realized how positive he had just sounded.

“My boy is getting out of here!” Brandon beamed and clapped Jude’s leg. 

“Please, don’t call me that.” Jude asked and wished his roommate would go to sleep already.

“It means you’re like a son to me.” Brandon explained but it didn’t make Jude feel any better. “I can call you my bro as well. How do you like that?”

“Just leave it.” Jude rolled his eyes and made a movement to get down to the bed.

“We have to celebrate!” Brandon then cried out, making Jude sigh in frustration. “I have this for you…” Jude heard him rustle something before his head popped up again and he saw that he was holding a can of beer. “There you go.” He exchanged it to Jude.

“Thanks, but won’t the guards find out the empty can?” Jude asked, not surprised that Brandon had a stash.

“Don’t worry, Jude.” Brandon said and dived down again to rustle some more. “My mate works on the canteen and he can get rid of it.”

Jude listened if he could hear footsteps outside their cell, but when he heard nothing, he carefully opened the can. The beer threatened to foam out and he quickly drank it so it wouldn’t spill on his clothes or the mattress. It was warm and a cheap brand, but Jude couldn’t remember ever tasting anything so good. 

“You like that?” Brandon had stood up again.

“It’s awful, but I love it.” Jude nodded but once his eyes settled on Brandon, the smile he had on his face disappeared. “Are you high?” He leaned closer to take a better look at his cellmate and saw clearly that his pupils were dilated. 

“I only had one beer.” Brandon tried to explain, but couldn’t get Jude smile again. It didn’t seem to bother him, since a huge smile appeared on his face. “You look funny, Jude.”

The only thing, which was good with Brandon’s use, was that he always succumbed back to his bed and fell silent. Only occasionally mumbling something Jude couldn’t make out.


	25. Unjust happiness

Zero and Derek stared at each other from across the court. They hadn’t seen each other in months and Zero had almost forgotten how much he despised the guy. He had followed Derek’s career develop here in Miami and he had done miracles to the previously meaningless team. It wasn’t fully because of Derek. Miami’s team had also hired two other rising stars and a new assistance coach, which had helped Miami to succeed.

“Zero.” Derek greeted him with a wide smirk on his face when they met at the sideline.

“Derek.” Zero responded to him with the same kind of smile.

“It’s been a long time since we last saw each other.” Derek looked at the other Devils' members. “The Devils have been playing…” He paused for a moment, as if trying to find the right word. “…lousily.”

Zero only laughed dryly to his comment. He bounced the ball he had been holding, once against the floor and then pushed it against Derek’s chest. “You’ll regret leaving L.A once this game is over.”

Derek took the ball from his hands and only smiled widely at him. Zero made his next objective to beat Derek at any cost. He did a good job on that until, just a minute before the halftime, Zero spotted someone in the crowd who made his mind turn away from the game: Sloane. She stood near the front row next to Ahsha, who seemed to be pregnant, but Zero paid no attention to her. In that last minute, he missed couple balls and a change to make a shot. The thought of the person, who he hated the most at the moment, watching the game made him feel sick.

When the half time started, Zero was following the other players towards the locker rooms, when he felt someone take hold of his arm. He turned around to see Pete standing behind him. The coach made sure the others were out of hearing range before snarling at him: “What just happened there?” 

“Why don’t you ask your woman not to disturb my playing?” Zero almost started shouting, but had the decency to lower his voice.

Pete looked a little surprised how much Sloane’s presence affected Zero’s playing, but then he seemed to get even madder. “You’re a professional, so no matter who is watching, you’ll deal with it.” 

Zero opened his mouth to say something more, but then he remembered his own proposition not to let their personal life inside the court. So instead he nodded reluctantly and followed the others. But once the second half started, Zero had to glance towards the crowd, but he didn’t saw Sloane anymore. Only Ahsha was sitting there, eyeing him solemnly.

Zero’s mood lifted immediately and he was able to concentrate through the rest of the game. It was a tough one, but seeing Derek’s disappointed face after the Devils won, made Zero’s day. It was a small consolation, since they had lost so many games that the next one against Ohio would resolve if they were going to be on semifinals or not. 

 

 

Their next destination was Ohio. The place held good memories for Zero: he had gotten his first change there and was given just enough responsibility to show what he got to offer. Also, in Ohio Zero had first met Jude. He remembered it like yesterday. Jude had popped up out of nowhere and probably talked his way into the team’s party that night. Zero had been entertained by one of the waitresses but once Jude had sat down next to him and asked his attention, he had given him that. Zero was now ashamed to admit to himself his first thought of Jude: an attractive looking man, but too awkward to get anywhere in life and he had dismissed Jude's proposition of joining the Devils. Jude had proven him wrong quite quickly, since after the party, he had gotten a phone call from his agent at that time and had told him the amount the Devils were willing to pay to get him to L.A. At that time, Zero had not been interested of changing the team. After all, they had won a ring that year, but once he saw Jude for the second time and he had told him about the chances to get to the captain’s seat, his mind was made up. 

“You ever miss this?” Otis’ question made Zero's mind return to the plane, which had just now started landing. He glanced out of the window, down to the millions of lights which was Ohio and shook his head. 

“Sure, I had good years here, but I realized I could do better in L.A.” Zero explained. Now that he thought about it, Jude was probably the biggest reason he had agreed to leave Ohio behind. Not that he had fallen in love at first sight, but Jude had felt familiar right from the beginning. Like they had known each other for years. Jude had always known how to handle him and he had always loved to tease Jude about everything and nothing. Maybe it had been love at first sight.

Zero was glad they had decided to fly to Ohio in a morning. Normally they changes cities right after the game. Zero was quite certain it had something to do with Pete wanting to spend some time with Sloane and his daughter. He felt anger boil in his guts when he even thought about them. They were able to spend time together and be happy, while Jude was stuck in prison. But this was a better arraignment for Zero, since he had been able to call Jude last night and he had calmed his mind. 

The day flew by at training and when night came, Zero waited for Jude’s call, but the call never came. It left him wondering what had happened and he was unable to sleep that night. In the morning, they headed to practice again, but Zero felt a huge lump in his throat, which had nothing to do with the game. Everyone else were spiked up and ready for the game tonight. Once the training was over, Zero dialed Sam’s number. He hoped Jude’s lawyer would know if something was going on at the prison.

To his relief, Sam answered quickly and seemed to know what he wanted, since he spoke before Zero could even let out a sound: “I’m sorry, Zero, I had to steal Jude for a meeting yesterday and it seemed there was a situation at other ward since the inmates were taken straight to their rooms right before I left.”

“You don’t know what that was about?” Zero asked and got ‘no’ for an answer.

“But I know it had nothing to do with Jude. Besides, I have some great news.” Sam sounded exited.

“Fire away.” Zero was sitting at the empty locker room, while others had gone to eat. He had not wanted anything to eat before he was certain everything was fine.

“I was just informed yesterday that the retrial had been approved.” Sam said and quickly continued: “I also have other good news…”

Zero listened patiently and felt his heart jump in anticipation.

 

 

Jude tried to hide his smile when he saw Gideon sitting at their usual table, but failed miserably. He looked around to see if anyone was watching but there were only two other pairs, who were at the opposite side of rooms and observed in their own conversations. 

“Hi.” Jude greeted as he sat down and was replied with a smile and a look, which seemed to go over Jude like he was the sexiest person in the world in the sickly orange prison suit. Jude knew for a fact that he looked awful in orange.

“How did the game go?” Jude asked, even though he had watched it, but wanted to know what Gideon's thoughts were. Gideon’s eyes darted away from him and Jude regretted for asking that since he missed that look immediately.

“I was so sure we could win.” Gideon answered then, sounding bitter. They had done everything they could, but Ohio got the better of them. 

“It was close.” Jude agreed. “But third place isn’t bad either.”

This time Gideon let out a small laugh. “Maybe not, but it sure is not golden and we still have to win the game tomorrow.” 

“How’s the team?” Jude asked then, not wanting the conversation to turn to his wretched life in here.

“They stopped using.” Zero said, sounding a little proud. “I just hope this set back doesn’t make them want to try again.” He fell silent for a moment, until a sudden realization hit him. “Enough of the Devils. What happened to you? Is everything alright?”

Jude hid the disappointment from his face, but couldn’t keep the sight escaping his lips. “The same. Nothing has happened. Brandon still goes on and on about everything and nothing.”

Zero lifted his hand to his face, to scratch his nose, so he could hide the smile, but Jude still spotted it and looked at him with annoyance. “I’m sorry. I just can’t help thinking that they paired you with the most unfit cellmate there is.”

Jude had thought he would agree, but when he thought about it, he couldn’t do that. “Actually, he’s not that bad. Just… talkative, but I’d take that any day instead of… well, something else.”

The smile disappeared from Zero’s face and Jude quickly changed the subject: “I’ll watch the game tomorrow and cheer you on. I promise to call you right after to congratulate you.”

“What if we lose?” Zero inquired. “You won’t call me then?” There was teasing on his voice.

Jude smiled. “Of course, I won’t. You either win or that’s it.”

“Brutal.” Zero shook his head. “I guess I have to win then.”

They both smiled to each other for a moment until Zero suddenly took Jude’s hand and casually slipped something to his palm. Then he carefully closed Jude’s fingers around it and withdrew his hands away. Jude looked at his closed hand for a moment, already feeling the shape of the object, but still dazzled enough not to believe it. Slowly he opened his hand and watched the engagement ring in awe. He glanced up at Gideon, who was looking softly at him with a tiny smile on his lips and maybe a little nervous. Jude opened his mouth to say something, but was sure it would ruin the moment, so he closed it instead and just smiled. 

“Keep it safe.” Zero pointed out.

“Is it valuable?” Jude asked, a little alarmed. He didn’t want it to be stolen and self forward for someone to buy drugs.

Zero shrugged. “It’s not the most expensive one.” He then said. “But that’s not why I asked. Keep it safe, since next time we meet, we’re getting married.”

“In two weeks?” Jude’s eyes went wide.

“Yeah.” Zero couldn’t control his expression anymore, when a wide smile break out to his face.

Jude looked down at the ring again and quickly slipped it into his pocket.

 

 

“You’re getting married?” The first thing Brandon shouted as he walked in to their cell and saw Jude circulate the ring between his index finger and thumb. 

Jude startled as he heard Brandon's voice. He hadn’t planned to show the ring to him, knowing the man’s dug problem. He would probably try to steal it, even though Jude trusted him with his life now but his life couldn't be traded. For a moment, Jude considered of hiding it, but the damage was already done.

“Well?” Brandon had come to lean against the realign of the bunk bed and was looking up at Jude with expectation written all over his face.

“Well what?” Jude asked, not understanding what the guy was after.

Brandon sighed loudly in frustration and pointed towards the ring with his hand. “Aren’t you happy? You look like the world had just ended. Or did you steal it from someone?” His voice suddenly turned serious.

“No!” Jude palmed the ring into his fist again and glared at his roommate, offended.

“Jude.” Brandon reached out to place his hand on his closed one. “If you have a drug problem, you can talk to me, but stealing Jude… it’s wrong.”

Jude rolled his eyes and drew his hand away. “I don’t have a drug problem. Seriously, Brandon, you’re the one…”

“Okay, I believe you!” Brandon held up his hands and quickly stepped away, withdrawing under to his bed. “Just tell me: is your sweetheart going to be as good to you as my Jenna is to me?” 

Jude was silent for a moment, opening his palm again and examining the ring. He only then noticed a tiny writing at the interior, which said: team Zero. A smile appeared on his face and at the same time his heart squeezed uncomfortably, when he missed Gideon. “I think so.” He eventually answered to Brandon’s question.

“Then he’s alright.” Jude heard Brandon answer.

It took him a moment to realize what Brandon had just said. He leaned over to ask how did he know, but then decided not to. They had learned a thing or two of each other in the last month in this tiny cell. It would probably be even more of a surprise if he didn’t know that Jude was gay.

Jude leaned back against the wall and quietly slipped the ring to his finger. He looked at it from many angles and decided that it fit pretty well. The ring was golden, which reminded Jude of Gideon: blonde, with a serious intention to win in everything he started. With those thought Jude laid back to the bed and fell asleep.


	26. Kinkades

Zero arrived to the arena over an hour earlier than he was supposed to. He had gotten a message from Jelena, asking him to meet her before the rehearsal started. And since Zero had nothing better to do, he came almost immediately. If the meeting with Jelena wouldn’t last long, maybe he could do a couple of hoops by himself. 

As he walked through the arena, he noticed that the construction workers were finishing up their jobs. Just in time to use the whole capacity of the arena before the Devils’ final game this season. Zero knocked on the door of Jelena’s new office. It had been moved to the uppermost floor and had a view to the court. Jude’s office had been build right next to it with similar idea. Zero had been able to peak in once, but hadn’t got a good look. He wished he could visit it soon with Jude.

“Come in!” Jelena’s voice carried its way through the door and Zero did as he was told. 

A loud bang and a shout: “Congratulations!” made Zero startle. The large office was full of people, mostly his team members. 

“What the fuck?” Zero couldn’t hide his surprise as he looked around the familiar faces. The bang he had heard had clearly come from an opened champagne bottle, which was now foaming to the floor and poured to glasses.

“We heard you just got engaged.” Otis was the one to explain and offered him a full champagne glass.

Zero took it and looked at it warily. 

“Don’t worry. Its alcohol free. We don’t mean to ruin the game.” Otis laughed and lifted his glass for a toast. Zero did the same and couldn’t help but smile. This was the last thing he had expected from his team mates and they had truly got him by surprise. 

“We also have a gift.” This time Jelena stepped from behind Otis, carrying a large box in her arms. “It’s from all of us and of course Jude as well.” She explained and gestured for him to open the present. 

“From Jude?” Zero frowned, he had no idea what they could’ve unwind in just one day. He took the box and opened it carefully. There was only one piece of clothing inside.

“Jude called me last night. It was mostly his idea.” Jelena said. 

Zero took the cloth and Otis took the empty box from his hands. It was a red jersey, but instead of Zero, it said G.Kinkade and under it, still the old number: 0. Zero looked it up and down, not quite sure how he should feel about it.

“He also said that if you don’t like it, it’s okay. You don’t have to show it to us.” Lionel, who had been drinking at the side came to stand beside Zero, clearly wanting desperately to know what was written on the shirt. She hadn't got the change to look at it before it was wrapped up.

Zero thought about it for a moment before turning the shirt around for everyone to see. It didn’t give away his name, since G could stand for anything. It was truly clever idea from Jude.

“G? What does that stand for? Don't say it means 'gay'? That's a bit too much, even for you.” As Zero had expected, Lionel fixated her attention immediately to the lonely letter. 

“My name.” Zero explained but didn’t say anything more even when Lionel looked at him expectantly. 

“What is it?” She finally snapped, but Zero only put the shirt on and concentrated on drinking his champagne. “Is it Gerard? Gilbert? Gil? Gordon? Not Grant? Tell me it isn’t Grant?”

“It’s not Grant.” Zero frowned at her. He knew she wouldn’t give up until she had gone through every man’s name starting with G, but he still wouldn’t give his name away. Eventually she would guess it right, but that would not help her. 

“Thank god!” Lionel exhaled and took a long drink from her glass. She clearly hadn’t heard that it didn’t contain alcohol. “I knew Grant once. Obnoxious son of a bitch.”

“Right…” Jelena said, eyeing Lionel dully. “This is only the start and once the game is played, we continue celebrating, both your engagement and the third place.”

 

 

Zero stood in the middle of the court. He was surrounded by people celebrating and hugging. He closed his eyes and smiled. They had lost, but for Zero, it didn’t matter. He was going to get married in two weeks and Jude’s retrial was going to be held in a month. So, he was in a good place right now. He didn't need a third place.

“Zero!” He felt someone stumble on him. “We lost! We fucking lost and I blame you!” Zero wasn’t surprised to see Jake shout at him over the background voices. But Jake didn’t look angry or even sad. He looked like he was joking and it was a new sight for Zero.

“You alright?” Zero frowned and looked around to see if anyone else on the team were at the same kind of mood, but all the others seemed disappointed and were heading towards their locker room. 

“I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulder.” Jake explained. Zero still wasn’t sure if he was drunk or not. “I’m relieved that the season is finally over.”

With that Jake left as fast as he had appeared. Zero watched after him for a while. He had been wrong, the kid was nothing like him and hoped he would go far in his career, where ever he would end up after this. 

In the locker room, a bottle of champagne was passed around between the team mates. This time it contained alcohol. Slowly each one of them had started to rise from the disappointment. Zero looked around, but couldn’t see Pete anywhere who usually held a speech. So, a little reluctantly, Zero raised his voice above the loud chatter: 

“Devils! Listen for a moment, would you?” He shouted and one by one all the team members turned to look at him, a little surprised. “This year has been so chaotic, that it’s even a miracle we got here. We could’ve done better, but we learned to play as a team and that’s something I’ve never experienced. So, let’s rise a toast to the Devils!”

“To the Devils!” The whole locker room echoed. Zero hadn’t seen the door being opened and Pete stepping in in the middle of his speech, but spotted him now pouring himself a glass and toasting as well. 

The party continued till late at night. Zero couldn’t even remember when was the last time he had so much fun. But still he felt like Jude should have been there, celebrating their engagement together. Luckily it didn’t stop Zero from having a good time and it seemed it was Lionel’s intention to get him hammered, which she succeeded on, since Zero spent the following day under the duvet, feeling terrible. 

 

 

“Hi, gorgeous!” Jude couldn’t help but smile when he heard Gideon’s vague respond from the other end of the line. “I gather you had a great time last night?”

“Did you tell Lionel to get me drunk?” Zero asked, exposing Jude’s plan right away. 

“Perhaps…” Jude laughed but then got serious. “Though luck last night, with the game I mean.”

“Yeah…” Gideon seemed to gather his thoughts. “I don’t really mind that we lost. This season has been so turbid, that I’m just glad it’s finally over.”

“Really?” Jude was surprised to hear that. He had expected for Gideon to be analyzing his performance and already thinking about next year. 

“Really.” Zero confirmed. It was already noon, but he still felt like his head was going to split up at any second. But talking with Jude made the headache a little endurable. “Weren’t you supposed to call me last night and congratulate me?” He asked it as a joke, but had still been wondering why Jude hadn’t called.

“I figured Lionel took enough care from you and call you when you’re at least a little bit sober.” Jude explained, wishing he could’ve been celebrating with the others. Although he wasn’t much of a celebrating type, he still would’ve enjoyed to spent time with his friends and see them having a good time. “I saw you wear the shirt yesterday. Did you like it?”

Zero let out a laugh. “I did. I do like it. Although Lionel tried to pry the meaning of the mysterious G, from me.”

Jude laughed back at him. “Sorry about that. Did she get it right?”

“Maybe on the hundredth attempt she asked if it stood for Gideon.” Zero answered.

“What did you say?” Jude waited a little anxiously for Gideon’s reply. He wasn’t sure if he had felt like telling his real name.

“I said nothing. She continued without a blink of an eye.” Gideon confessed.

“Good to know. I won’t slip your name when she’s around then.” Jude nodded to himself. He had expected for Gideon not to tell his name and was fine with it. He more likely wanted to keep the rest of the world thinking he was just Zero, which was fine.

“Thank you, Jude. You have no idea how much I miss you right now.” Zero was still in bed, covering his eyes with his free hand from the sunlight streaming through the window.

“I miss you too.” Jude closed his eyes and imagined himself next to Gideon in that bed. 

“Twelve days…” Zero muttered, half to himself. It was a short time, but felt like eternity until he could see Jude again and they would get married. To his surprise the thought didn’t scare him at all.

“Try to figure out something to do with yourself.” Jude said, knowing full well how restless Gideon could get if he had nothing to do.

“Honestly, right now I just want to bury my head under the pillow and never wake up again.” Zero sighed loudly as he felt the headache starting to hammer his head again. 

“I can stay here until you fall asleep. There’s no line.” Jude glanced towards the door of the phone booth. Usually there were somebody waiting anxiously for his turn, but this time it seemed many were still doing their daily chores.

“I’d like that.” Zero muttered, already half asleep. He listened Jude’s steady breathing against his ear and started to doze off.

Jude waited patiently until he was sure Gideon had fallen asleep, then he waited another minute before finally hanging up. 

 

 

“What do you mean you’re not making vows?” Lionel asked loudly.

Jude looked around and saw everyone in the visiting room turning to look at them. He then leaned over the table, closer to his friend so she would take the hint and speak quietly. “Making vows and big weddings are just not… our thing.” He tried to explain it to Lionel.

“But people are supposed to make vows and Zero loves huge parties.” Lionel reached over to shake Jude’s hand. “You’re so adorable together. You should invite hundreds of people and declare your love to the entire world.”

“Dear god, no.” Jude made a face and looked at Lionel as if she had lost her mind. “We’re certainly not doing that. Besides, the prison won’t even allow more than four witnesses and they have to be on my visiting list or inmates.”

“I always imagined your wedding to be beautiful, outdoor in a beach and the booze would flow.” Lionel stared into the distance as she spoke as if she could see that all clearly.

“You’ve imagined our wedding?” Jude asked, staring at Lionel with lifted eyebrows. “Seriously?”

“Don’t sound so surprised!” She playfully slapped his arm. “Am I not allowed to want my best friend to have a glorious wedding?”

“Of course, you are and I’m glad you do.” Jude laughed and reached over the table to give Lionel a hug.

Lionel hugged him back tightly. “Oops… I stained some lipstick on your… overall.” She muttered as they parted and tried to wipe the stain away from Jude’s shoulder. “Orange really doesn’t suit you.” She then looked down at his clothes, almost disgusted look on her face.

“I know.” Jude sighed. “Just leave it. I can wash it later.”

“You have to wash your own clothes? Oh, Jude, prison is even more horrible than I imagined.” Lionel glanced towards a table next to them and saw a man, who Jude recognized to be one of Jean’s sidekicks, to stare at her. Lionel smiled at him, looking pleased to receive some attention.

“He has murdered six people.” Jude whispered to Lionel, causing her to go pale. “And just so you know: I did my own laundry back at home too.”

“Are you sure? He looks so… handsome.” Lionel asked and got a nod for an answer. 

“We need to find you a man… outside a prison.” Jude joked, getting a murderous glare from Lionel.

“Maybe I lend Zero for a while.” She snapped, but soon smiled to reassure him that it was only a joke, but Jude hadn’t been offended.

“You can always try.” Instead he smiled and Lionel smiled back at him.


	27. You and me together

Jude adjusted his tie and smoothed the fabric of his suit carefully. It felt nice, to discard the orange overalls to a well-fit suite for a change. Jude felt like his old self again. He hadn’t even realized he had lost it before now. For a moment, it felt like he could just walk out of here and return to his former life. 

“Looking good, Jude!” Brandon patted his shoulder, grinning widely. Jude wasn’t sure if he was high or not. 

“Thanks. I still don’t get it, why you weren’t allowed to wear something… fancier.” Jude looked at his cellmate, who was still wearing his jail clothing.

“They probably think I could sneak out among the rest of the visitors.” Brandon didn’t seem to mind his outfit at all. If Jude was honest, he couldn’t picture Brandon wearing anything else.

“I seriously doubt that.” Jude had started to feel nervous: his heart was pounding fast in his chest and he breathed rapidly.

“Damn, what time is it?” Brandon searched the walls for a clock. “Five minutes. Sorry, Jude, I need to use a bathroom.”

Jude watched him hurry to one of the guards standing at the doorway, which lead to the prison quarters. At the same time the door opposite of that, was opened and Gideon waltzed in with his casual way, but when he saw Jude, he fastened his steps and was about to hug Jude, when he suddenly stopped. It took a moment for Jude to realize why.

“Hi.” Zero greeted him breathlessly before looking pass Jude towards a guard. “Can we…?” He started and waved his hand between him and Jude.

The guard nodded solemnly and a wide smile appeared on Zero’s face. He pulled Jude for a tight hug and Jude quickly wrapped his arms around him, wishing they didn’t have to depart so soon.

“Okay, that’s enough.” The guard’s voice interrupted them and Zero stepped back reluctantly, giving the man an icy stare before he did. 

Jude looked Gideon up and down. He was wearing a white suit with darker blue shirt underneath it. 

“What do you think?” Zero asked and turned around so Jude could admire every part of his outfit. “Wifey chose well?” 

Jude burst out to laughter. He didn’t even remember when he had last laughed so hard. “Wifey chose very well. I love it.” He managed to swallow down the laughter when the other guard behind Gideon side glanced at him warily. Jude reached out to straighten Gideon’s tie. He didn’t notice the door behind him being opened and Brandon walking to them.

“Jude!” Brandon’s voice made Jude startle and he turned to see the shocked expression on his face as he was staring at Gideon. “Why did you never tell me you’re dating a basketball player? You are Zero, aren’t you?” 

“Yeah, I am.” Zero didn’t even try to hide his smile as he frowned towards Jude, clearly asking what was this guy’s problem.

“Are you telling me you didn’t know? You must be the only one in the whole prison who didn’t know.” Jude was sure Brandon had finally figured it out when he had confessed to know that Jude was gay, but clearly, he had been wrong. “So, you never googled me?”

“I don’t do googling.” Brandon said defiantly. 

Jude realized that Brandon never actually visited the computer room nor did he even follow news. The guy must be totally unknown of what happens in the world outside the prison.

“Well, Zero this is Brandon my roommate and Brandon this is Zero.” He finally introduced the two men together. Zero shook Brandon’s hand and against all odds, the room was filled with awkward silence. 

Zero glanced towards Jude. He had thought Brandon was a talkative guy. Maybe he was Jude’s idea of a chatty person. The silence was cut by an opening of the door Zero had entered earlier and Lionel walked in, followed by Jelena. Both of the two women seemed to have been in a similar atmosphere before coming in.

“Hello, boys!” Lionel seemed to be relieved to finally meet someone other than Jelena. 

“Hi.” Zero walked to meet her and they shared a quick hug.

“What came into you?” Jude took the opportunity to speak to Brandon. 

“What?” Brandon seemed to snap out of some kind of trance.

“You became so quiet all of a sudden.” Jude explained his question.

“I don’t know what to talk about with a celebrity. I’ve never meet one before.” Brandon looked almost shy.

“Don’t be ridiculous. He’s the same as any other person.” Jude resisted the urge to laugh. He thought Brandon could’ve been offended if he did.

“It’s not just that. I just love wedding. It reminds me of my own.” Brandon confessed with a warm smile on his face. “I can’t believe it’s been four years already.”

“You’ll be fine.” Jude patted Brandon’s shoulder and noticed Lionel walking closer to them, eyeing his cellmate warily. Jelena had stayed behind to talk with Gideon.

“Hello, Lionel.” Jude hugged her before introducing them. “This is my cellmate Brandon, Brandon this is my friend Lionel.”

As the formal introductions were over, they were escorted to the room, where the ceremony was about to be held.

“Are you nervous?” Jude asked from Gideon as they followed the guards side by side.

“No.” Gideon answered simply before turning to look at him. “Are you?”

“Not anymore.” Jude smiled a little. He realized he had calmed down immediately after he had seen Gideon.

“Jude?” 

Lionel had crept to Jude’s side without him realizing. He turned to look at her and saw her holding two blue and white flowers in her hands. He had no idea what flowers they were and what she had brought them for. Without a word, Lionel put the other flower to Jude’s breast pocket and arranged it for a moment to make it look perfect. 

“There.” Lionel finally said and smiled. “I can’t believe my boy is getting married.” She suddenly sobbed and quickly hugged Jude to hide her tears to his shoulder. “I’m so happy for you.” She then whispered to his ear and squeezed him a little tighter.

“Thank you.” Jude whispered back.

Lionel took a step away and smoothed Jude’s suit jacket to make sure she had not wrinkled it. Then she turned to Zero, who had been watching them awkwardly. “This one’s for you.” She lifted the other flower and placed it to Zero’s breast pocket as well. After that, she took Jude’s hand to hers, squeezed it for a moment before taking Zero’s hand to her other and entwining the couple’s hands with each other. “My words still stand: if you hurt Jude, you’ll taste the wiper fluid.” She then said to Zero.

Jude broke out smiling, but Zero knew how serious Lionel was. This time, however, he did not stay speechless: “I know, but you shouldn’t be worried about that.” 

Lionel just shrugged, gave Zero’s cheek a light pinch as well as Jude’s before going to sit down next to Brandon, who was now sitting between the two women.

The minister started to talk his usual rambling in which, neither Jude or Zero paid much attention to. The most important thing was that they were committed to each other and the rest of the world knew it as well.

“I’ll ask you, at the presence of these witnesses…” He waved towards Lionel, Brandon and Jelena. “…do you, Jude Adrian Kinkade, take thee Gid…” Jude quickly covered the paper the minister was reading with his hand. The room was filled with silence and he tried fiercely to find a way to explain why he had done it.

“It’s just Zero…” Jude explained to the man, who just stared at him, dumbfound.

“But I…” The minister started.

“Just, Zero. Nothing else.” Jude interrupted him.

“Jude, it’s okay.” Gideon’s words made Jude look at him in shock.

“You sure?” Jude asked, looking closely into his eyes to see if he meant it.

“Yeah.” Zero nodded firmly and took Jude’s hand, which still laid over the minister’s paper to guide it back down.

“What is going on?” The minister asked and looked between the two.

“Nothing. Just continue, will you?” Zero rushed him. Then he looked at Jude and shrugged. "It's just three of them. No harm done."

Jude glanced towards their witnesses, he trusted Jelena wouldn't say a word to anyone, but Lionel and Brandon? He wasn't so sure about those two. But he trusted Gideon's judgment on this and it's not like this was the place to start arguing about it. For Zero, using his real name felt... liberating, somehow. It felt like he could finally let go of it, changing his last name from Rogers, which was his foster parents' name, to Kinkade and be legally Jude's family.

The minister cleared his throat. “Very well. Do you take thee, Gideon Jacob Rogers…” He now empathized his name and looked meaningfully towards Jude, as if waiting for him to interrupt him again. ”…to be your lawfully wedded husband to live together in holy matrimony?”

“Gideon?” Lionel’s voice filled the small room. “I asked you if it was Gideon and you lied straight to my face. I begin to doubt this arrangement here.”

Both Jude and Zero and the minister turned to look at her dully. Lionel looked between the three before crossing her arms around her chest and looking away.

“Carry on…” She said a little hurt.

Jude turned to look at Gideon. “I do.” He said and tried to see if there was any doubt in Gideon’s mind, but saw none. He only smiled. 

“Do you, Gideon Jacob Rogers, take thee, Jude Adrian Kinkade to be your lawfully wedded husband to live together in holy matrimony?"

If anyone had told Zero a few years earlier, that he was going to get married in two years and to a man. Zero would’ve laughed it off. But now he stood in front of Jude, who was not only his best friend, but also his soulmate. Someone who understood him, no matter what, Zero could only say: “I do.”

“I now pronounce you married. You may kiss each other.”

Zero didn’t hear the three witnesses standing up and starting to clap. He only lifted himself to his tiptoes to kiss Jude. It was like the time Zero had kissed him in the middle of the court: everything around them seemed to disappear and he forgot where he was and his only thoughts was with Jude: what his lips felt like against his and what he tasted like. Jude had cupped the back of his head and smiled against his lips.

“Do you have a handkerchief?” Lionel looked at Brandon with a frown on her teary face and reluctantly gave him one of from her purse. “Thanks.” Brandon blew his nose loudly. “I can’t believe that Jude is already married.” Jelena glanced at the man and rolled her eyes.

“For how long you have known Jude again?” Lionel asked, but didn’t have time to get an answer when Jude and Zero turned towards them and she hurried to congratulate them.

 

 

Jude stood in the middle of the trailer and looked around in disgust. The trailer was tiny and damp. The walls were sickening brown color and windows looked like they had never been washed. He did not want to know how many people had used this place before them, but even the thought of it made him sick to his stomach. He was about to express his concern to Gideon, when he almost fell over as Gideon more collapsed against his back, than hugged him.

Zero wrapped his arms tightly around Jude and buried his nose to his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent. He felt like, for the first time in months, he was able to actually breathe freely. He swayed them back and forth. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” He mumbled to Jude's ear.

“I bet, I do.” Jude brought his hands up to squeeze Gideon’s arm and closed his eyes, just enjoining the feeling of Gideon’s body against his back. He felt safe and calm. 

Zero reached up to place a kiss to Jude’s neck, just above the collar of his shirt and with his hands, he drew Jude’s jacket away from his shoulders. As Gideon’s hands loosened around him, Jude took the opportunity to turn around and pull Gideon to a kiss. It turned heated in an instant and Zero started to push Jude towards the bed behind him as he ran his tongue inside Jude’s mouth.

Jude suddenly stopped as he felt the back of his knees hit the side of the bed and let out a muffled sound against Gideon’s mouth.

“What?” Zero asked breathlessly as he pulled away such enough so he was able to talk.

“It’s just…” Jude glanced over his shoulder towards the bed. “It looks clean, but…”

Zero looked at the bed as well, but had no idea what was wrong with it.

Jude stared at the bed for a moment longer, then turned towards Gideon and seemed to ponder at something, before his eyes fixated on Gideon’s mouth and a decision was made as he lunged forwards to capture his lips again, making them both fall down to the bed.

“How long has it been?” Jude asked, breathing heavily as Gideon placed kisses from his mouth, along his jawline and down to his neck.

“Don’t remind me…” Zero kept kissing his neck from everywhere he could reach. Slowly running his hand down on Jude’s body.

Jude loosened his tie and pulled it over his head as Gideon started to unbutton his shirt. Jude slid his hands to the front pockets of Gideon’s trousers, finding them empty. He then tried the rear pockets. “Where’s the condom?” He asked as he found them empty as well. 

They both froze and stared at each other for a moment. Then Zero’s eyes were caught by a side table near the bed, where a tube of lubricant and pack of condoms had been placed, which they hadn’t noticed before.

“Damn, they thought about everything.” Zero quickly took them.

“You didn’t think of bringing one?” Jude laughed to him and snatched the condom from his hands. 

“I did…” Zero said, a little defensive. “But they always take all my stuff away when I arrive here, so I thought this was no exception."

“True…” Jude said absentmindedly and pulled Gideon down for a kiss, pushing his hips up against Gideon’s and humming against his mouth.

Zero smiled against his lips and moved his hands lower to unbuckle Jude’s belt and slip his hand inside his boxers. Jude gasped and pulled Gideon’s shirt over his head, not bothering to open up the buttons since it would’ve taken too much time. He brought their lips together again and enjoyed the feeling of Gideon’s hand against his cock. It soon started to feel too much, too fast, and he pushed Gideon’s face away to brake the kiss. Gideon seemed to understand what he meant and without a word, sat up and started to take his own trousers off. Jude took care of his and tossed them somewhere down the floor, not caring if they got dirty or not. 

As Zero was fully naked as well, he came down to lean against Jude’s body and covered them up with the blanket. He kissed Jude’s lips while trying to find the lubricant somewhere around the bed, where he had dropped it earlier, without having to break the kiss. 

“Wait…” Zero groaned as Jude broke the kiss to speak. Jude arched his back and reached behind himself to take the tube and placed it to Gideon’s hand. 

Zero poured some to his hand and started to kiss Jude’s neck again. Jude tilted his head a little to give him more space and chewed his lower lip as Gideon pushed a finger inside him. 

It didn’t take long for Zero to prepare Jude, since they were both too anxious to drag the foreplay any longer. Jude positioned himself better underneath Gideon and dug his fingertips to his back as Gideon pushed inside him.

“You okay?” Zero placed their foreheads together, examining Jude’s facial expression carefully.

Jude only nodded and gave him a little smile before sighing as Gideon shifted his hips. He had missed the feeling of Gideon moving inside him, the feeling of being as one. Jude reached out to ran his hand through Gideon’s hair and watched his face as the pleasure built up inside him. Zero met his gaze and cupped Jude’s cheek, running his thumb against his lips. He brought their lips together hastily and kept their faces close together, gazing into Jude’s eyes as he came with a loud moan. Zero felt the muscles tighten around his cock and had to push just a few times more to feel the release for himself. He leaned against the pillow as the rest of his body collapsed over Jude. He placed his forehead against Jude’s and took a deep breathe. Jude cupped his cheeks and brought his face down to place a soft kiss to his lips. 

“I love you.” Jude murmured, running his hand against his neck and back.

“Love you too.” Zero said back, feeling his heart swell. He kissed Jude more deeply before rolling over to his back, to lie next to him. He took the condom off as Jude found some wet wiped to clean them off. The bed was uncomfortably small for two grown up men, but Zero didn’t mind. It only allowed him to be closer to Jude.

“God… what time is it?” Jude asked as he laid his head down against Gideon’s chest, enjoying to feel the rise and fall of it and the steady heartbeat, gradually slowing down.

“Too late.” Zero said as he reluctantly took a look of his watch, not really caring to be aware of time passing too fast. Luckily, they had the whole night together. Jude only hummed. 

“Your hair has grown.” Zero said absentmindedly as he stroked Jude’s hair, enjoying to be able to just feel his love’s hair in his hands.

Jude looked up a little, not looking very pleased with the knowledge. “Well, we’re not allowed to run in a barber every month.” Jude’s hair grew fast and every time he looked in a mirror, he wished he could have scissors to cut it shorter. 

“I like it.” Zero confessed and looked how the thick, brown hair flowed through his fingers. 

“You’d better not get used to it.” Jude laughed, taking the hold of Gideon’s hand and bringing it down against his chest, entwining their fingers. There was a long silence and Jude could almost feel Gideon thinking about something. “What are you thinking?” He finally asked, lifting his chin so he could see, at least a little from Gideon’s face.

“I just realized, I now share a name with Oscar.” Zero said with a dubious look on his face.

“Welcome to the dysfunctional family.” Jude laughed and kissed the back of Gideon’s hand. 

“Maybe we can make it sound more flourishing, since you and me together…” Zero shifted so he could get to the same level with Jude’s face. “…we can never fail.” He then smiled and kissed Jude’s lips. 

They talked late through the night before Jude fell asleep. Zero watched him for a while longer before his mind started to drift off as well and they slept soundly to the morning.


	28. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... this is the end. Finally. Thank you all for reading the whole story and sticking with me even though I haven't been able to update as often as I would've liked. Enjoy the last chapter and let's hope that season four is coming soon and we'll be able to see much more Jude and Zero together! <3

“Looking good!” Brandon said from behind Jude, who had put his suit on and tried to adjust his tie without a mirror. 

“Thanks…” Jude said absentmindedly and sighed. He felt even more nervous than before the first trial.

“Hey, mate, you’re going to get out of here. I’m hundred and ten percent sure of that.” Brandon patted his shoulder and smiled at him encouragingly.

“I hope so.” Jude smiled tightly back at him. 

“Damn…” It was now Brandon’s time to sigh and he walked around their tiny cell, like he was more nervous than Jude.

“What is it?” Jude asked and looked down at his suit for one more time. Wondering if the tie fit with the rest of the suit.

“What I’m going to do without you, Jude?” Brandon finally stopped pacing to lean against their beds. “I’ve started to get fond of you."

“You have parole hearing coming in a year, right?” Jude asked and Brandon nodded absentmindedly. “Can you promise me something?” He asked then.

“Anything!” Brandon swore before even hearing Jude’s request. 

“If I get out of here, quit using, okay?” Jude asked and Brandon’s face changed from happy to uncomfortable. “If not for me, do it for Jenna. I’m sure she’s put up a lot for you.” 

Brandon was staring at the floor and Jude tried to get an eye contact with him. Finally, Brandon sighed loudly and looked up at him. “Okay.” He said, but didn’t sound very convincing. 

“Just okay? Say it properly, so I might believe you.” Jude smiled even though the subject wasn’t funny at all.

“I promise to quit using.” Brandon swore, this time sounding more confident. 

“Glad to hear that.” Jude pulled Brandon for a hug, which his cellmate returned gladly. “I want you to be in a top shape for your parole and not getting caught with your pants down.”

Brandon laughed, but it died down quickly. “Yeah… I appreciate your concern, Jude. But with my lawyer… it’s a miracle to even get the hearing started, so…”

“Your lawyer is one of the best in L.A.” Jude said with a wicked smile. Brandon’s confused expression said it all and Jude explained himself: “I talked to my lawyer and Sam promised to take you as a client as soon as he’s done with me.” 

“Really?” Brandon asked with a weak voice. Jude nodded at him. “Really?!” Brandon jumped to wrap his arms around Jude and hugged him tightly. “Oh, Jude, you’re the best! I’m so happy, I feel like kissing you!” He then let go of Jude and gave him a wet kiss to his cheek.

“Okay, Brandon, that’s enough.” Jude quickly withdrew away from him as his cellmate was about to kiss him again. 

“You’ll see, Jude! I am going to be a model prisoner from this day on and a model citizen after I get out.” Brandon promised and then crouched over his bed to search for something.

“I’ll be waiting to see that and I’ll look forward of meeting your Jenna.” Jude smiled and leaned against the wall. He looked around the small cell and was glad he could leave it behind, but at the same time he felt a little nostalgic. These four walls had been his safe place for the last months and he hoped Brandon’s next cellmate wasn’t going to die anytime soon. 

“Jenna will be so glad to meet you, Jude. She’s the best.” Brandon had rambled on about her while Jude’s thoughts had been elsewhere. “Here.” Brandon then stood up and exchanged his hand to him. He was holding a plastic back of drugs. “I will give you the honor to flush this down the toilet for me.”

Jude looked up at Brandon with a frown on his face, not quite sure if he was kidding or not, but Brandon only shook the bag under his nose and Jude took it hesitantly. 

“Okay, fine.” Jude walked to the toilet and opened the bag. He looked over his shoulder at Brandon, waiting for him to stop him, but his cellmate only nodded eagerly. “Here goes…” Jude turned the bag around and dropped its content into the toilet and flushed it away. 

When it was all gone, the sound of a key turning in the lock made them both startle and Jude tossed the bag back to Brandon, who quickly hid it under his pillow.

“Jude Kinkade? Ready to go?” The guard had come to pick him up and Jude nodded at him for an answer.

He looked towards Brandon, who tried to smile while swallowing his tears. “Good luck, mate.” Brandon said and patted Jude’s shoulder as he passed by.

“I’ll come visit you soon. Goodbye.” Jude promised and returned the gesture before following the guard out of the cell.

 

 

Jude had closed his eyes. All the voices in the courtroom faded away and he could only hear the sound of jury walking to their places. The judge asked them something, but Jude couldn’t hear what she said. Then he heard the head of the jury stepping up and he opened his eyes to look at the woman. It seemed to take forever for her to open her mouth and tell him his verdict. 

The trial had been much like the first one: both, Zero and De Sario had testified for and against him and the judge was the same as last time. They went through the same speculations, but this time Jelena had walked up to the stand and told her opinion of what had happened. Sam had almost screamed in delight when she was done. He had sworn that her testimony would have the most impact on jury, since she was the victim of the whole case. Not even De Sario was able to dismiss her testimony. Because if he had, it would’ve probably been the end of his career altogether. 

“Not guilty!” 

Jude stared at the jury in disbelief. The judge said something again and then she hit the table with her mallet. Sam pulled Jude for a hug and congratulated him. Jude still couldn’t believe that he was actually free. 

“I’m free to go?” Jude asked in disbelief and looked towards the judge.

“Yes, mister Kinkade.” The judge said and smiled down at him. “You are now a free man and can do anything you like from this moment onward. Enjoy it and stay out of trouble.” 

Jude turned to look at Sam once again and it finally hit him: he was free. “Thank you, Sam. For everything.” He hugged his lawyer once again and Sam patted his back. 

“I should’ve been able to get you out right at the beginning. But I must say: this feels much more like a victory.” Sam laughed and took a step back from Jude, giving some room for Zero to walk pass him, who had been anxiously waiting for a chance to get to Jude.

Jude had barely time to even realize Gideon was there when his husband had already wrapped his arms around him and almost squeezing all the air out of his lungs. “I love you, stupid.” Zero said breathlessly against Jude’s neck and swayed them from toe to toe for a moment.

“I love you too, stupid.” Jude whispered back and smiled. He had always appreciated for having Gideon in his life, but after all that had happened, he appreciated it even more.

 

Jude sat in his car next to Gideon and breathed in the fresh air. The day was warm in L.A and normally he would've complained about being too hot, but now he enjoyed the feeling of sun warming his face and the dark suit. Even the loud noises of traffic around them didn't seem to mind him. Zero eyed him time to time, while trying to concentrate on driving. 

"What are you thinking?" He asked and Jude laughed at him.

"Nothing..." Jude said and looked at Gideon. "I'm just grateful. About everything."

"Yeah, me too." Zero said and took Jude's hand on his. 

"I'm just glad to get home and into my own bed and you next to me..." Jude rambled on about how wonderful it would be to be with Gideon alone.

Zero only listened and tried not to feel guilty. 

Once he drove the car inside their garage, Jude leaned over to him and pulled him for a kiss, which Zero happily returned. But when the kiss started to get more intense and Jude's hand wandered between his legs, Zero quickly broke the kiss and took his hand on his. 

"What is it?" Jude frowned at him.

"Let's just get inside." Zero said, wishing nothing more than they could stay here in the car.

Zero let Jude walk inside their house first and waited anxiously for the shouts to echo through the whole house: "Surprise!"

Jude had doubted something was going on, but this wasn't something he had expected: the whole house was full of people, all ready to celebrate his freedom.

"Sorry. I don't know how to handle with Lionel." Zero whispered to his ear, knowing full well how much Jude wished he they could've been alone. Lionel was the first one to ran to Jude and hug him tightly. Jelena followed and many others after her. Jude was clearly surprised and tired, but he seemed happy nevertheless and it made Zero smile.

 

 

“Gideon!” Lionel walked to Zero, raising her glass and toasted it against his. “What’s up?”

Zero only gave her a look and smiled.

“Don’t worry. I would never tell anyone.” Lionel winked and smiled. “I’ll just keep it to myself. It gives me a fantastic opportunity to blackmail you when the time comes.” 

“You still feel like threatening me?” Zero frowned, but there was still a smile on his face.

“Maybe… If you give me a good reason for it.” Lionel took a sip from her glass and then smiled widely. 

Zero shook his head, but couldn’t help returning the smile. He didn't mention that she actually threatened him right at the moment.

Jude poured himself another glass of champagne and took a sip from it as he eyed all the guests that filled their house. He was surprised of how much friends he had been able to gather in just few short years.

“Hi.” Lionel had come to stand beside him and eyed his glass.

Jude looked down at it and only now noticed, that Lionel wasn’t drinking anything. “You want some?” He was about to turn around to serve Lionel, but she stopped him by taking a hold of his arm.

“No. I’m good.” Lionel said, but Jude saw there was something wrong. He decided to wait for her to tell him herself. “How is the movie going?” 

Lionel smiled, but it was somehow forced. “I was fired.” She then admitted.

“What? But why?” Jude was shocked and angry towards anyone who had decided to do that.

“It was my fault.” Lionel said quickly, before Jude could get any more worked up. “I think… I have a problem and I… I’ve decided to stop drinking.”

Jude didn’t know what to say to that. He had noticed that Lionel sometimes overdid it, consuming a bit more alcohol than her body was able to endure, but he had never thought it was a real problem to her. The realization made him feel terrible. Like he had abandoned his friend for not seeing the symptoms. “Lionel, I’m sorry…” He turned towards her and tried to apologize, but she cut him off:

“Don’t you make this about yourself.” She said firmly, making Jude feel even more guilty, but then she smiled and caressed his arm fondly. “I only realized it myself while you were in prison and didn’t want to bother you about it.” She paused for a moment, thinking about how much she was willing to share with him now. “So, I made deal with myself: once Jude gets out of prison, I’ll stop drinking. And here we are.”

Lionel smiled at him. It made Jude realize just how brave this woman was. He thought for a moment before placing the glass he had been holding to the table. Lionel frowned at him. 

“Then I’ll quit drinking too.” Jude smiled at her. “For as long as it takes for you to get through this.”

Lionel opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead her eyes filled with tears and she quickly hugged him. Jude wrapped his arms around her and held on tight. “You…” He started and pulled himself away from the hug so he could look at her in the face. “…are the bravest and strongest woman I’ve ever met. Not to mention the best of friends."

“Stop it! You’re embarrassing me.” Lionel hit him playfully to the chest and looked around to make sure no one was able to hear them. 

“I don’t care.” Jude laughed, but then got serious. “I mean it, Lionel.” 

Finally, Lionel looked up at him and nodded as his words sank in. “Thank you, Jude.” She lifted to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, leaving a red lipstick mark on it. 

 

 

Jude came to stand next to Zero, wrapping his arm around his waist. Zero flashed a smile at him which Jude returned.

“Let’s get out of here.” Jude whispered so no one near them could hear him.

Zero looked at Jude’s eyes to see a mischievous glimmer in them, which made Zero smile. “It’s your party.” He whispered back and looked across the room at all the people.

“I know. Lionel can handle them for a while.” Jude said and turned to meet Gideon’s gaze. Then he ran his hand from Zero’s back, along his arm to take his hand and started to guide him out of the living room.

Lionel watched with a knowing smile as the couple disappeared through the glass doors before getting everyone’s attention: “It is time for the karaoke and the drinking game of Lionel’s style!”

The guests looked at each other. They feared what was about to come.

 

 

Zero followed Jude through the garden and to the other end of the house.

“Garage?” He asked as Jude opened the door to their garage. 

Jude turned around to smile at him. “At least we got some privacy.” He slid under the half way opened door and waited for Gideon to follow him before closing it fully. He turned around, expecting to see Gideon standing close his car, but instead he stood right behind Jude and wrapped his arms around his waist as he turned around.

“Oh, hello.” Jude smiled and pulled Gideon for a kiss. He pushed Gideon backwards, until his back hit the trunk of Jude’s car. “Let’s get inside.” He whispered against Gideon’s lips and moved to open the backdoor.

“You do know we have more room here?” Zero asked with amused smile on his lips. 

“It brings back memories. Let’s call this cozy.” Jude joked and pulled Gideon inside with him from the front of his shirt. 

“I’m fine with that.” Zero mumbled as he crawled on top of Jude, capturing his lips once again. They fumbled for a moment to get each other shirtless and Zero traced kisses along the side of Jude’s face. Then he suddenly sat up with narrowed eyes. Jude frowned at him, missing the feeling of Gideon’s lips against his skin.

“Have you been cheating on me?” Zero asked then, looking somewhere past Jude’s face.

“What?” Gideon’s question had left him almost speechless.

“You have something there…” Zero reached out to wipe something off from Jude’s cheek with his thumb. “With a woman of all people. I never would’ve thought.” A wide smile appeared on Zero’s face as he licked his thumb to moisturize it and wiped the red lipstick mark off from Jude’s face.

“Ha. Ha.” Jude laughed dryly, but then smiled. “It’s Lionel’s.”

“Yeah, I know. I saw her kissing you earlier.” Zero confessed and leans down to kiss Jude himself, still continuing to caress Jude’s cheek with his thumb.

Jude lifted his hips to rub against Gideon’s, smiling when his husband let out a sigh. Zero pressed his whole body against Jude, but then Jude mumbled something incoherent against his lips.

“What?” Zero asked as he broke the kiss and frowned at Jude’s pained expression.

“It’s just…” Jude reached behind his back and Zero quickly lifted his weight off from him. “Fuck…” Jude cursed as he moved the clip from the seat-belt from underneath him. 

“Okay. Let’s change positions.” Zero smiled and sat up, so Jude could move from underneath him. As he was able to get himself to a sitting position, Zero sat on his lap and pressed their lips together again, while unbuttoning Jude’s trousers. 

Suddenly, a light filled the dark garage and they both froze. Someone had opened the door from inside the house. 

“No, no, no! That’s not the bathroom!” Lionel’s voice echoed from inside. “I told you: it’s the last door on left.” 

The door was closed again and darkness filled the room. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the darkness, but once they were able to see each other’s faces again, they burst out laughing.

“This is going nowhere.” Jude said between the laughter. “I didn’t even remember we have a door here form the inside.”

“Yes, it is.” Zero smiled wickedly and shut Jude up with a kiss. He moved his hips against Jude’s and continued take off his trousers. 

Jude gasped and ran his hand through Gideon’s hair, pulling his face even closer, while guiding his hand against the muscles on his back. Zero was finally able to get Jude’s cock free from his boxers and pulled away from the kiss, but kept their foreheads pressed together. He smiled when he saw Jude’s expression, as he moved his hand alongside his penis. 

Jude pulled him back for a sloppy kiss, while he pulled Gideon’s trousers down from his waist. Zero pressed their hips together the first moment he was able to and kept on stroking Jude. He bit his lower lip lightly, not wanting to make a mark there when they still got a party to get into. Jude smiled against his lips, clearly noticing his trail of thoughts. Then he gasped loudly and thrust his hips upwards, causing Zero to fasten the movement of his hand. Jude cupped his face between his palms, keeping him close. It grounded him before his release made his head spin. Zero kissed his lips multiple times before Jude answered to his kiss properly. 

“Sat down.” Jude whispered to him and Zero moved to sat beside him to the bench. Jude leaned down to take him into his mouth, sucking him hard. Zero moaned and let his head drop against the back rest, closing his eyes. He traced his hand from Jude’s back to his hair, only distantly thinking that he missed the longer haircut, but the thought left him almost immediately. It did not take long for him to come as well and Jude sat up beside him, they both breathing heavily.

“You ready to go back to your party? Now that you got it out of your system?” Zero asked with a playful smile, pulling Jude for another kiss.

“Maybe…” Jude said between the kisses. “I still think… we should… get rid of them soon.”

“Mmmmhm…” Zero murmured against his lips. “I agree.” 

 

 

Zero walked through the arena. He headed to the top floor and was about to open the door to the office he had been planning to go, but then he stopped. He stood there for a moment, hesitating. Eventually, he walked pass it and went to the end of the corridor instead. He stopped in front of an identical door and lifted his fist to knock, but then he froze. It felt like someone had taken a hold of his hand and stopped him from knocking, although he knew it was he himself who was unable to make the last move. 

Zero took a deep breath and forced his fist to touch the door. The knock was more violent than he had planned it to be and he waited anxiously for the door to open. He soon heard steps coming closer and almost regretted arriving there when he saw Pete’s doubtful look.

“Hi.” Zero greeted without even a hint of an smile on his face.

“Hi?” Pete answered, clearly wondering what Zero was doing there.

Zero cleared his throat and looked around uncomfortably. “Can I come in?”

Pete looked him up and down before slowly taking a step back to let him in. “Sure.” 

Zero walked in and stopped in the middle of the room. Pete showed him a chair next to his table, but Zero ignored his gesture.

“I… umm… came here…” Zero swallowed. He had never done this before, but he knew he could do it, since everything he had done with Jude was new and he had managed. Not very well, from someone’s point of view, but he had managed. “I came here to apologize.”

There was a short silence, after which Pete only asked: “For what?”

Zero swore, if Pete hadn’t been the coach of his team, he would’ve stormed out of there right then. “For accusing you and Sloane for something you hadn’t done.”

Pete looked at him with narrowed eyes. “I think you should apologize from Sloane, not me.” He then said and was about to say something more, when a voice interrupted him:

“We appreciate it, Zero.” They turned around to see Sloane standing at the doorway. She smiled tightly at Zero and walked to him. “I understand what you must’ve felt and I want you to know that I don’t hold any grudges against you.”

“Glad to hear that.” Zero echoed her smile and then looked back at Pete. He didn’t need to ask what was on his mind, since Pete understood him.

“I’m not going to kick you out of the team. You’re our best player and I’m sure we can make this work.” Pete glanced towards Sloane, who smiled at him encouragingly.

“Good…” Zero nodded and took a step towards the door. “Good… I just… get going then. See you next month.” 

He retreated outside and quickly closed the door behind him. He sighed in relief and headed back down the corridor and to the door he had planned to go in the first place. Zero didn’t knock and just walked in. A smile appeared on his face as he saw Jude sitting behind his desk, concentrated on his work so much, that he didn’t even notice his husband coming in. 

Zero sneaked behind him and leaned down to kiss his neck. Jude jumped and quickly turned around in his chair to see who was there.

“Gideon! You scared the hell out of me.” Jude panted and shook his head.

Zero smiled placed a kiss to the side of his mouth. He straightened himself and looked around Jude’s new office. “This is grand.” He said and turned around to lean against the side of the table. He was faced with floor to ceiling high windows, which opened up to the court. “I hope you won’t be up here watching all our games next season. I like to see in the stand."

“I'll keep that in mind.” Jude smiled and came to stand beside Gideon. “Wait, you talked to Pete?”

“I did... and Sloane.” Zero grinned and wrapped his arm around Jude’s shoulders. 

“I’m proud of you.” Jude smiled fondly and then turned to look down at the court as well. “I’m not sure if this is such a good idea.” 

“What is?” Zero frowned at him.

“My office. Facing the court.” Jude said and looked at Gideon, who still didn’t understand. “I won’t be getting any work done once the Devils start practicing.”

“I hope you were only talking about me.” Zero smiled widely and walked to stand in front of Jude. “It won’t do for my husband to be looking at my work colleagues.”

“Thankfully, up here, no one can see who I’m looking at.” Jude joked and pulled Gideon down for a kiss. 

“Okay, you can look, but as long as you love only me, we’ll be fine.” Zero smiled against Jude lips. He lifted his thumb against Jude’s jaw and made him open his mouth a little so he could slide his tongue inside.

Jude answered to the kiss and was about to jump onto the table, when he realized anyone could see them through the windows. He reluctantly pulled back from the kiss and caressed the side of Gideon’s face.

“You don’t have to worry about that, but what you do have to worry is that anyone can see us.” Jude smiled and nodded towards the windows.

This time it was Zero who cursed the existence of those windows. Jude laughed and slid away from between Gideon and the desk. 

“Luckily, I have a solution.” Jude walked to the side of his table and took a small remote control into his hand. He pushed one button and the windows slowly started to turn black.

“How did you know that?” Zero smiled and narrowed his eyes at his husband.

“Jelena told me. I guess she had thought I would need some privacy.” Jude explained and walked back to Gideon once the windows were completely dark. “Where were we?”

“I believe you were going to declare your love for me and I was about to answer you that I love you too.” Zero said and placed their foreheads together. 

They were finally home.


End file.
